LOS ANGELES -- Depression can be debilitating for anyone, but it can be especially bad for the elderly, who have a six times higher suicide rate.

Most antidepressants can take weeks or even months to start helping in elderly people, but an old drug is now showing some promise in this area.

Bill Takahashi is an amateur gardener. But a year ago, even his beloved orchids weren't enough to keep this 83-year-old from feeling irritable and depressed.

"I was yelling at my wife more than normally," he said. "Like, if my eggs weren't turned over properly, I'd say, 'What kind of a cook are you?'"

So Takahashi's wife and daughter took him to Dr. Helen Lavretsky, a geriatric psychiatrist at the University of California-Los Angeles.

In the past, there was no quick fix for depression in seniors.

"Normally, an individual who is with geriatric depression, late-life depression, responds or shows some signs of improvement in depression after weeks to months of active treatment," Lavretsky said. She now uses low doses of Ritalin to kick-start the effects of antidepressants in her patients.

"It may have been the placebo effect, but a couple days after taking Ritalin, I was really just happy as a lark," Takahashi said.

Lavretsky treated 21 elderly patients with Ritalin, along with their traditional antidepressants. Many felt better in as little as 72 hours.

"It just adds to what other drugs don't provide; another chemical that is responsible for a fast onset of action," Lavretsky said.

The energizing effects of Ritalin is short-lived. That's why Lavretsky combines the drug with antidepressants. The hope is that by the time the Ritalin wears off, the effects of the other drugs may be in full bloom.

Because of the high suicide rate among the elderly, Lavretsky said it's important that depressed seniors get rapid treatment.

If you would like more information, please contact:

Helen Lavretsky, M.D.
UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital
Division of Geriatric Psychiatry
760 Westwood Plaza, Room 37-384
Box 175919
Los Angeles, CA 90024-1759
(310) 794-4619