The results of the first 12 weeks of the Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study (TADS), conducted at 13 sites nationwide, show that 71 percent responded to the combination of fluoxetine and CBT. The other three treatment groups, of participants between the ages of 12 and 17, also showed improvement, with a 60.6 percent response to fluoxetine-only treatment, and 43.2 percent response from those receiving only CBT. The response rate was 34.8 percent for a group that received a placebo. The difference in response rates for the latter two treatment groups was not statistically significant.

The $17 million study is the first large, federally funded study using an antidepressant medication to treat adolescents suffering with moderate to severe depression. The study was conducted between the spring of the year 2000 and the summer of 2003.

Clinically significant suicidal thinking, which was present in 29 percent of the volunteers at the beginning of the study, improved significantly in all four treatment groups, with those receiving medication and therapy showing the greatest reduction.

For more information from the National Mental Health Institute on child and teen mental health, visit the federal website.