Psychiatria pre prax 1/2024

Duloxetine in the treatment of patients with depression with comorbid pain and cognitive symptoms

As two of the most prevalent public health issues at the moment, depression and chronic pain are debilitating conditions that frequently coexist. Anxious symptoms accompany a high percentage of depressive disorders, just as depression and anxiety often exhibit in a variety of painful ways, or vice versa, with painful manifestations either causing or exacerbating depressive and anxious symptoms. One prevalent and usually permanent primary sign of depression is cognitive impairment. Duloxetine significantly improves cognition in addition to symptoms of depression, anxiety and pain. In this article, therapeutic experience with duloxetine in the treatment of depression, combined with persistent pain symptoms as well as cognitive deficits, is presented in the format of two case studies.

Keywords: depression, chronic pain, cognitive symptoms, duloxetine