Comparison of pramipexole and citalopram in the treatment of depression in Parkinson’s disease: A randomized parallel group trial

Depression is one of the most common neuropsychiatric  ymptoms in Parkinson’s disease (PD). There is little evidence to guide depression treatment in these patients. The aim of this study was to compare citalopram and pramipexole in reducing depressive symptoms in  atients with PD.

In the present 8?week randomized trial, we compared the efficacy of pramipexole versus citalopram in the treatment of depression in PD patients. For this purpose, 44 PD patients with depression randomly received open?label oral citalopram tablets or pramipexole and their depression, quality of life, and daytime sleepiness scores were evaluated at baseline and after the 8?week trial period. 

The median age of the patients was 64 years, and about 85% of them were male in both groups. The Beck Depression Inventory score, Parkinson’s disease summary index (PDSI), and Epworth Sleepiness Scale were  ignificantly decreased (P < 0.05) in both citalopram and pramipexole  roups throughout this period and without significant difference (P > 0.05) between these two groups, except for PDSI score which showed significant  mprovement in pramipexole group compared with citalopram group (P < 0.0001, r = 0.319). There were neither serious adverse effects nor  reatment discontinuation due to the adverse effects.

The  esults indicated that both citalopram and pramipexole were effective in the alleviation of depression and improving the quality of life in PD patients;  owever, pramipexole was seemed to be slightly more beneficial on quality of life in these patients. Therefore, pramipexole seems to be an effective treatment for depression in addition to its benefits for motor symptoms of PD patients.