What are the complications and emerging strategies for preventing depression following TBI?

M JONES; L ACION; R JORGE

Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics

Taylor & Francis

Año: 2017

1473-7175

Introduction: Depression is a common and disabling complication oftraumatic brain injury (TBI).  The highrates of post-TBI depression (PTBID) make this condition an important candidatefor selective preventive interventions.  Areas covered: We recently reported on the efficacy of sertraline,a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), for the prevention of newcases of depression in the first six months after TBI.  We review this and other studies onpreventative strategies in PTBID as ascertained from a PubMed and citationsearch.  The potential complications andbarriers to the implementation of pharmacological prevention in patients withTBI are also discussed.Expert view: The prevention of depression in patients with TBI hasreceived little attention relative to other medical conditions. Future studiesare needed to confirm the benefit of SSRIs and investigate otherpharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions, including in specialgroups of patients at greater risk of developing PTBID.