Newcastle Hospitals is part of a national trial investigating if a widely used antidepressant is a clinical and cost-effective way of preventing depression following a traumatic brain injury (TBI).
TBIs usually occur from a violent blow or jolt to the head or body and is one the most common reasons people attend accident and emergency departments.
Depression after brain injuries
Depression can affect up to 50% of people with TBIs – this is on average ten times higher than the general population.
It usually emerges shortly after injury and is caused by a range of factors, include underlying brain damage, other health problems, and the consequences of the injury such as financial or social changes.
Smaller trials to date have shown that sertraline, an antidepressant that is widely used to treat mood disorders, could reduce the incidence of depression when taken within a few weeks of the TBI.
The STOP-D trial aims to build on these smaller trials by testing the theory that taking 100mg of sertraline once a day for 12 months is both clinically and cost-effective.
Right treatment and support
The trial is led from the Royal Victoria Infirmary’s Major Trauma Centre by consultant neurosurgeon, Mr Damian Holliman. He says:
“The STOP-D study is the first properly designed clinical trial investigating if sertraline helps prevent people from developing depression, which is very common after a TBI.
“Drug and non-drug treatments are used to manage depression in people after a TBI, but preventing the depression from happening at all would be much better and easier.
“This trial is a vital part of ensuring patients receive the right treatment and support following a brain injury, which is a very challenging and difficult time.”
Participants on the study will be randomly assigned sertraline or a placebo (‘dummy’) version. Over the course of 18 months, blood and saliva samples will be taken to check for changes in proteins that could help predict whether head injury causes long-term health problems.
Other factors, such as quality of life and employment will also be analysed.
The trial is led nationally by Prof. Khalida Ismail, Professor of Psychiatry at King’s College, London.
For more information about the trial visit the King’s College London website. For consent to be contacted about opportunities to participate , please complete this form.
