Aripiprazole Augmentation Versus Switching to Different Class of Antidepressants in Major Depressive Disorder

Most guidelines have suggested that those nonresponders or partial responders should be considered for a switch, combination or augmentation of treatment. Traditional augmentation agents, lithium, triiodothyronine (T3), buspirone, dopamine agonists, and stimulants have been commonly used for this patient population with limited supporting data. Recently, augmentation of atypical antipsychotics with antidepressant therapy has become a more commonly accepted treatment practice. This strategy has proven to be useful for enhancement of antidepressant effect, showing increased remission rates and early treatment effects on core depressive symptoms, and comorbid symptoms as well as antidepressant- mediated side effects (e.g., sexual dysfunction). Although, we have some limited treatment options to treat such patients as described above, it is not clear which treatment option would be best or acceptable for those patients in clinical practice yet. Among above augmentation agents, aripiprazole is the first drug approved by U.S. FDA. as an augmentation therapy to antidepressants in the treatment of patients with MDD showing imminent efficacy and reliable safety profile through adequately-powered well-designed controlled clinical trials.