Prediction of Response to Antidepressant Medication by a Sign-Based Index of Melancholia

We examine the capacity of a new melancholia index (focussing on CORE signs indicative of psychomotor change) to predict response to antidepressant medication. In a naturalistic study, depressed patients were assessed and rated by their treating psychiatrist, and we focus on those who received antidepressants for three weeks or more. Those subjects who returned high CORE scores (putative melancholia) at baseline improved more over the initial six weeks, but analyses suggested that the differential improvement outcome was independent of medication. Thus, CORE scores predicted outcome for those receiving antidepressant medication, but possible mechanisms remain unresolved.