This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by de Carvalho, S. C. Articles by Gorenstein, C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by de Carvalho, S. C. Articles by Gorenstein, C. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Memory performance in panic disorder patients after chronic use of clomipramine

Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil

Tania Marcourakis

Centro de Investigações em Neurologia, Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina (LIM-15), Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil

Rinaldo Artes

Departamento de Estatística, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil

Clarice Gorenstein

Departamento de Farmacologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Instituto de Psiquiatria, Hospital das Clinicas, Faculdade de Medicina (LIM-23), Universidade de Säo Paulo, Brazi; LIM-23, Instituto de Psiquiatria HC-FMUSP Caixa Postal 3671 CEP 01060-970 São Paulo, SP, Brazil; cgorenst{at}usp.br

This study investigated the chronic use (6.3 ± 0.5 years; mean ± SEM) of therapeutic doses of clomipramine (57.0 ± 8.0 mg/day) by outpatients with panic disorder/agoraphobia who were currently in remission to assess impairment of memory and psychomotor functions. In addition, the association between test performance and serum levels of clomipramine (CMI) and its active metabolite desmethylclomipramine (DCMI) was also assessed. Patients and healthy volunteers matched for sex, age and educational level were submitted to rating scales and to memory and psychomotor tests. There was no significant difference between groups regarding any variable, except for metamemory. Significant associations were found between (i) longer-term clomipramine treatment and poorer performance in the implicit test and (ii) higher serum levels of clomipramine or desmethylclomipramine, or both (CMI + DCMI) and lower performance in central executive tests and metamemory. The results showed that low doses of CMI chronically administered to panic patients are associated with diminished metamemory and impaired priming and working memory. Further investigations are needed to confirm these results and to determine whether the chronic use of higher therapeutic doses of tricyclic antidepressants is associated with more intense deleterious effects on memory and psychomotor functions.

Key Words: central executive • chronic use • clomipramine • desmethylclomipramine • metamemory • panic disorder • priming • serum levels • working memory

Journal of Psychopharmacology, Vol. 16, No. 3, 220-226 (2002)
DOI: 10.1177/026988110201600305


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?