WHAT IS STAR*D

Currently, practitioners have many effective treatment options for depressed patients, including 20 FDA approved antidepressant medications as well as several time-limited, scientifically tested psychotherapies. However, because no one treatment is universally effective for everyone, many depressed patients do not experience a satisfactory clinical benefit from the initial treatment they receive. Some patients respond to one treatment, some to another, and some may require the combination of two or more treatments. Focusing on the common clinical question of what to do next when patients fail to respond to a standard trial of treatment with an antidepressant medication, STAR*D aims at defining which subsequent treatment strategies, in what order or sequence, and in what combination(s) are both acceptable to patients and provide the best clinical results with the least side effects. Secondarily, STAR*D will provide estimates of the costs and cost offsets of such care when provided to outpatients in both primary and specialty care settings.

Disclaimer

This STAR*D web site was created for and describes the activities of an NIMH-funded collaborative study on the treatment of depression. The study is completed and no longer recruiting participants.

If you are seeking immediate help for treatment of depression, we recommend that you contact your clinician or your nearest emergency room. This web site is not intended to provide help or advice to individuals about depression. If you need information about depression, visit the NIMH web site page about depression.