Psychiatry Investig Search

CLOSE


Psychiatry Investig > Volume 12(1); 2015 > Article
Chen, Lai, Su, Palani, and Su: Bupropion for Interferon-Alpha-Induced Depression in Patients with Hepatitis C Viral Infection: An Open-Label Study

Abstract

Interferon (IFN)-α therapy for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is frequently associated with major depressive episodes. Bupropion, a commonly used antidepressant agent, has recently found to have strong anti-inflammatory effects in animal models. Despite of the theoretical relevancy, the antidepressant effect of bupropion in IFN-alpha-induced depression has never been studied. Ten HCV patients with IFN-α-induced depression were recruited to receive 8-week bupropion treatment and were assessed every 2 weeks for depressive symptoms by the Hamilton rating scale for depression (HAMD) and somatic symptoms by the Neurotoxicity Rating Scale (NRS). Four of the 10 patients met the criteria for remission (total HAMD scores≤7), and 5 patients met the criteria for response (at least 50% reduction in total HAMD scores). In addition, 5 patients had 50% decreases in NRS for neuropsychiatric symptoms. This preliminary open-label study suggests that bupropion is effective in treating IFN-alpha-induced depressive and somatic symptoms.

INTRODUCTION

The current standard treatment for patients with chronic hepatitis C viral (HCV) infection is the cytokine therapy with interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha). However, IFN-alpha based therapy is associated with severe neuropsychiatric symptoms, including the development of major depressive episode (MDE), and other symptoms that resemble cytokine-induced "sickness behaviour."1,2 Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are effective in the management of patients with INF-alpha-induced depression,3,4 especially for mood and cognitive symptoms. However, the somatic symptoms such as fatigue and anorexia are less responsive to SSRIs treatment.3 In addition, SSRIs also have been reported to develop manic switching.5 In fact, the anti-inflammatory agents, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and cyclo-oxygenase-2 inhibitors, have been commonly used to treat neurovegetative somatic symptoms during IFN-alpha therapy in clinical settings.6
Bupropion is a norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA) reuptake inhibitor antidepressant agent and has been reported to be effective in the treating major depressive disorder.7,8,9 Interestingly, bupropion exerted strong anti-inflammatory effects of down-regulating tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1beta, and IFN-gamma.10 Despite of the theoretical relevancy, the effect of bupropion on depressive and somatic symptoms in IFN-alpha-induced depression has never been studied.

METHODS

We conducted this open-label study to evaluate the effect of bupropion on IFN-alpha-induced depressive and somatic symptoms in patients with HCV infection. Since year 2005, a psychiatric team has been working together with the hepatologists to provide a combined care for HCV patients referred to IFN-α therapy at the Liver Centre of China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan. The institutional ethics review board approved this research before it underwent between July 2006 and June 2009. Patients with chronic HCV infection were assessed by the hepatologists to receive peg-IFN-alpha-2β (1.5 µg per kilogram of body weight, subcutaneously, once weekly) and daily ribavirin (800-1200 mg). Eligible subjects were those who developed the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-fourth edition (DSM-IV) criteria of MDE during IFN therapy. After fully explained about all the possible treatment alternatives, the patients who signed informed consent were enrolled to start with bupropion treatment in 150 mg/day. The dosage could be increased according to response or tolerability based on the clinicians' clinical judgment. Participants were assessed every 2 weeks by independent raters with the 21-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) for depressive symptoms, the Neurotoxicity Rating Scale (NRS) for somatic symptoms, and the Chalder Fatigue Questionnaire (CFQ) for fatigue symptoms. The laboratory examinations, including hepatic enzymes (AST/ALT) and viral mRNA titers, and the adverse effects associated with IFN and bupropion were regularly assessed in the clinical treatment setting.

RESULTS

Ten patients who agreed to receive bupropion treatment were recruited in this study. Table 1 shows the demographics, clinical characteristics, virological response, and the efficacies and adverse effects of bupropion treatment. After bupropion therapy for 8 weeks, 4 (of 10) patients met the criteria for remission (total scores less than or equal to 7), and 5 patients met the criteria for response (at least 50% reduction in total scores). Four of the 10 patients had a 50% decrease in the CFQ for fatigue symptoms, and 5 patients had 50% decrease in NRS for neuropsychiatric symptoms. Figure 1 illustrates the rates of responders and remitters at visits of weeks 0, 4, and 8.
The final total daily bupropion dose was between 150 mg and 450 mg. Headache (n=4), GI upset (n=3), and poor appetite (n=3) were among the most common adverse events after bupropion therapy. One patient was withdrawn from bupropion treatment because he developed a seizure attack when given 300 mg of bupropion per day.

DISCUSSION

The main finding is that bupropion treatment reduced somatic and depressive symptoms induced by IFN-alpha. To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that NDRI is effective in IFN-alpha-induced depression. There have been a few studies about the effects of SSRIs on IFN-alpha-induced depression.3,4 However, symptoms of depression, anxiety, cognitive dysfunction and pain seem to more be more responsive, whereas symptoms of fatigue and anorexia are less responsive.3 These data demonstrated distinct phenomenology and treatment responsiveness of symptom dimensions induced by IFN-alpha, and suggests that different mechanisms mediate the various behavioral manifestations of cytokine-induced sickness behavior.3 The statistic power was 99% at the alpha level of 0.05 with a sample of 10 subjects with the HAMD difference of mean and SD from baseline the endpoint was 12.4 and 8.3, respectively. The power analysis indicates that the treatment effect might be robust to detect the difference of approximately 10 points in HAMD, and we we will need 12 subjects per group (bupropion vs. placebo) to conduct a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial in future investigation.
Bupropion has several specific pharmacological characteristics as compared to SSRI. Firstly, A number of studies suggest that norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA) play a key role in the pathophysiology of sleepiness, and fatigue.7,8,9 By enhancing NE and DA both in cortex and in subcortical areas, bupropion might has a better clinical profile in improving fatigue and sleepiness.7,8,9 Secondly, bupropion is a selective NE and DA reuptake inhibitor that is devoid of several serotonergic-associated side effects, such as sexual dysfunction, weight gain, and sedation.7 Thirdly, the inflammatory mechanism plays a key role in the pathogenesis of depression, especially in somatic symptoms of depression.2 The newly found anti-inflammatory characteristics of bupropion might be a mechanism for the effect of bupropion in IFN-alpha-induced somatic symptoms.10 Finally, SSRI-related adverse effects, including gastrointestinal bleeding, retinal haemorrhaging, and hepatotoxicity, are of specific consideration in HCV patients with risks of liver decompensation.6 However, whether bupropion is associated with less occurrence of above-mentioned risk would need more clinical investigations.
Patients receiving bupropion for IFN-alpha-induced depression showed a virological response rate of approximately 90% in our study. Interestingly, the overall virological response rate is around 60% in patients receiving IFN-alpha for hepatitis C infection. Prior studies found that patients who became depressed while on IFN-alpha and ribavirin treatment and started on SSRIs achieved higher SVR rates compared with placebo,11 implying that antidepressant medications may have a direct effect on immunity. However, the relationship among virological response, IFN-alpha-induced depression, and the use of bupropion or other antidepressants in patients with hepatitis C infection would need further research.
One patient developed a seizure attack during bupropion treatment. Bupropion exposure was associated with a higher incidence rate of seizure, ranged from 0.35% to 0.44% at doses up to 450 mg/day, as compared with to the incidence of 0.07% to 0.09% with exposure to other newer antidepressant.7 In addition, seizures during IFN-alpha therapy have been reported in approximately 0.16-1% of patients,12 although the mechanism underlying IFN-alpha-induced seizures is unknown. It needs more careful observation and studies to know whether the concomitant use of bupropion and IFN-alpha would increase the risk of seizure attack.
The study is limited by its small sample size and the absence of a placebo-control group. In the future, double-blind controlled trials involving a comparison with placebo, SSRIs, or other interventional or preventive strategies,13 with close monitoring viral clearance rate and electroencephalograph examinations would be warranted.

Acknowledgments

The work was supported by the following grants: NSC101-2628-B-039-001-MY3 and NSC 103-2923-B-039-002-MY3 from the National Science Council; NHRI-EX101-10144NI from the National Health Research Institute; and DMR-101-081, DMR-102-068 and DMR-103-078 from the China Medical University in Taiwan.

References

1. Su KP. Biological mechanism of antidepressant effect of omega-3 fatty acids: how does fish oil act as a 'mind-body interface'? Neurosignals 2009;17:144-152. PMID: 19190401.
crossref pmid
2. Su KP, Huang SY, Peng CY, Lai HC, Huang CL, Chen YC, et al. Phospholipase A2 and cyclooxygenase 2 genes influence the risk of interferon-alpha-induced depression by regulating polyunsaturated fatty acids levels. Biol Psychiatry 2010;67:550-557. PMID: 20034614.
crossref pmid
3. Capuron L, Gumnick JF, Musselman DL, Lawson DH, Reemsnyder A, Nemeroff CB, et al. Neurobehavioral effects of interferon-alpha in cancer patients: phenomenology and paroxetine responsiveness of symptom dimensions. Neuropsychopharmacology 2002;26:643-652. PMID: 11927189.
crossref pmid
4. Kraus MR, Schafer A, Schottker K, Keicher C, Weissbrich B, Hofbauer I, et al. Therapy of interferon-induced depression in chronic hepatitis C with citalopram: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Gut 2008;57:531-536. PMID: 18079286.
crossref pmid
5. Wu PL, Liao KF, Peng CY, Pariante CM, Su KP. Manic episode associated with citalopram therapy for interferon-induced depression in a patient with chronic hepatitis C infection. Gen Hosp Psychiatry 2007;29:374-376. PMID: 17591516.
crossref
6. Asnis GM, De La Garza R 2nd. Interferon-induced depression: strategies in treatment. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2005;29:808-818. PMID: 15907352.
crossref pmid
7. Fava M, Rush AJ, Thase ME, Clayton A, Stahl SM, Pradko JF, et al. 15 years of clinical experience with bupropion HCl: from bupropion to bupropion SR to bupropion XL. Prim Care Companion J Clin Psychiatry 2005;7:106-113. PMID: 16027765.
crossref pmid pmc
8. Seo HJ, Lee BC, Seok JH, Jeon HJ, Paik JW, Kim W, et al. An open-label, rater-blinded, 8-week trial of bupropion hydrochloride extended-release in patients with major depressive disorder with atypical features. Pharmacopsychiatry 2013;46:221-226. PMID: 23963965.
crossref pmid
9. Pae CU, Lim HK, Han C, Patkar AA, Steffens DC, Masand PS, et al. Fatigue as a core symptom in major depressive disorder: overview and the role of bupropion. Expert Rev Neurother 2007;7:1251-1263. PMID: 17939764.
crossref pmid
10. Brustolim D, Ribeiro-dos-Santos R, Kast RE, Altschuler EL, Soares MB. A new chapter opens in anti-inflammatory treatments: the antidepressant bupropion lowers production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interferon-gamma in mice. Int Immunopharmacol 2006;6:903-907. PMID: 16644475.
crossref pmid
11. Loftis JM, Socherman RE, Howell CD, Whitehead AJ, Hill JA, Dominitz JA, et al. Association of interferon-alpha-induced depression and improved treatment response in patients with hepatitis C. Neurosci Lett 2004;365:87-91. PMID: 15245784.
crossref pmid
12. Ahmed F, Jacobson IM, Herrera JL, Brand M, Wasserman RB, Fixelle AM, et al. Seizures during pegylated interferon and ribavirin therapy for chronic Hepatitis C: observations from the WIN-R trial. J Clin Gastroenterol 2011;45:286-292. PMID: 20930643.
crossref pmid
13. Su KP, Lai HC, Yang HT, Su WP, Peng CY, Chang JP, et al. Omega-3 fatty acids in the prevention of interferon-alpha-induced depression: results from a randomized, controlled trial. Biol Psychiatry 2014;76:559-566. PMID: 24602409.
crossref pmid
Figure 1
The rates of response and remission in 10 hepatitis C viral infected patients receiving bupropion therapy for interferon-alpha-induced depression at visits of weeks 0, 4, and 8.
pi-12-142-g001.jpg
Table 1
Demographic, psychometric and medical information for the 10 hepatitis C viral infected patients receiving bupropion therapy for interferon-alpha-induced depression
pi-12-142-i001.jpg

*weeks of onset represents the week in which major depression occurs since IFN-alpha therapy, HAM-D indicates the scores of Hamilton Rating Scale of Depression at the week of bupropion therapy, CFQ indicates the scores of Chalder Fatigue Questionnaire at the week of bupropion therapy, §NRS indicates the scores of Neurotoxicity Rating Scale at the week of bupropion therapy, HCV RNA indicates HCV viral loads isolated at months of bupropion therapy (k means thousand), final dosage indicates the final daily dose of bupropion used (mg). Case number 10 stopped bupropion (300 mg) due to a seizure attack at the 16th week



ABOUT
AUTHOR INFORMATION
ARTICLE CATEGORY

Browse all articles >

BROWSE ARTICLES
Editorial Office
#522, 27, Seochojungang-ro 24-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul 06601, Korea
Tel: +82-2-717-0892    E-mail: psychiatryinvest@gmail.com                

Copyright © 2024 by Korean Neuropsychiatric Association.

Developed in M2PI

Close layer
prev next