ArticleAnnals of general psychiatry2025
Insights on the cognitive enhancement effect of desvenlafaxine in major depressive disorder.
Article in Annals of general psychiatry, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03432221 (Efficacy Of Switching From SSRI to Desvenlafaxine on Cognitive Function In Patients With an Acute Episode of Major Depression), which is not on this map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Efficacy Of Switching From SSRI to Desvenlafaxine on Cognitive Function In Patients With an Acute Episode of Major Depression
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Peripheral miRNA profiling identifies therapy-specific biological trajectories in the treatment of cognitive dysfunction in depression: an exploratory mechanistic study.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- Desvenlafaxine as a Potential First-Line Treatment for Major Depressive Disorder: A Comprehensive Review and Consensus-Based Clinical Perspective on Efficacy, Safety and Patient Selection Profiles.Clinical drug investigation · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDesvenlafaxine, a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, has demonstrated efficacy in improving affective symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD); however, its effects on associated cognitive and functional difficulties remain underexplored. This study seeks to assess the antidepressant effects of desvenlafaxine in patients with SSRI-resistant MDD, its impact on both objective and subjective cognitive performance, where cognitive improvements occur independently of clinical recovery or not, and its influence on psychosocial functioning.
methodsAn observational case-control prospective study with 66 participants was conducted, including 26 patients with a current MDD episode, with an inadequate SSRI response, and with the prescription of desvenlafaxine as the next antidepressant therapeutic option, and 40 healthy controls. Sociodemographic, clinical, cognitive, and functional assessments were conducted both before and after a 12-week treatment period. Changes were analyzed using two tailed paired-samples t-tests, with Cohen's d for effect sizes. Cognitive improvements were compared between the patients who achieved remission and those who did not.
resultsPatients showed significant improvements in depressive and anxiety symptoms, attention/working memory and processing speed, self-perceived cognitive difficulties and psychosocial functioning. Highlighting the fact these cognitive enhancements occurred independently of patients' clinical improvement.
conclusionsThe findings of this study focus on the therapeutic potential of desvenlafaxine, demonstrating its efficacy not only in ameliorating clinical and functional symptoms but also in addressing specific cognitive impairments in patients with depression. Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying desvenlafaxine's effects and optimize treatment strategies for individuals with MDD. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03432221 (clinical. TRIALS: gov). Registration date: 08-01-2018.
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