Wayne State University’s School of Medicine is one of 10 sites across the United States participating in the Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study, a program that aims to determine a systematic approach to treating depressed youths with anti-depressants, behavioral therapy or a combination therapy.

Adolescent depression is more prevalent than ever, however scientific literature about depression focuses almost exclusively on adults. New research shows that depression onset is occurring earlier in life, making it extremely important to determine which treatments work best for depression in youth and adolescents.

Nili Benazon, PhD, who is the principal investigator at WSU, says she is pleased to see that treatment is becoming more widely available for this problem that affects 1 in 20 kids.

“Childhood-onset depression predicts depression in adults, so it is to our advantage to treat depression most effectively as early as possible,” she said. “Although mental illness poses substantial health care burdens on teens and their families, the human costs may be even greater than the economic costs. And of these costs, none is greater than teenage suicide.”

The study, which is sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health, offers free treatment for up to nine months for teenagers 12-17 years of age, who are experiencing symptoms of depression. Teens will be randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups:

• Medication only: Prozac or a placebo will be administered and closely monitored. Those teens who get the placebo and do not improve will be advised after 12 weeks and can then choose an alternate treatment for the remainder of the study.

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) only: CBT is a type of psychotherapy that focuses on changing peoples’ thoughts and behaviors that contribute to their mood.

•  Combination treatment: Some patients will be treated with both medication and cognitive behavioral therapy.

This is the first systematic study to look at the advantages and disadvantages of administering such treatments alone or in combination to depressed adolescents. By documenting outcomes of various treatment options, researchers hope effective care for depressed adolescents will become a standardized therapeutic option.

Wayne State University will be enrolling patients over the next two years. The nine-month treatment phase will be followed by a 12-month evaluation period during which patients will continue to be assessed for long-term outcomes. The study’s co-investigators include Drs. David Rosenberg and Marla Bartoi. Patients and/or referring physicians can call Jennifer Ivey at (810) 558-8900 for more information.