Second-Generation Antipsychotics for Treatment-Resistant Major Depressive Disorder in Primary Care.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a disabling psychiatric condition. Although antidepressant medications are the mainstay of treatment, many patients fail to achieve remission with their use. Consequently, a range of augmentation and combination strategies has been used to improve treatment outcomes. Recent evidence has shown that adjunctive therapy with atypical or second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) could improve and potentiate the beneficial antidepressant effects even in the absence of psychotic symptoms. This review summarizes the SGAs used as augmenting agents for the treatment of resistant MDD and the pharmacologic mechanisms involved in this combined treatment approach. Primary care providers using SGAs to treat MDD must monitor patients for certain adverse effects such as weight gain and hyperglycemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]