Agitated Depression and the Potential Response to Gama-Amino Butyric Acid Agonist

Agitated depression is a specific variant of depressive disorder characterized by marked psychomotor agitation, including prominent restlessness and pacing, intense anxiety, irritability, and insomnia. These symptoms can be severe, and patients might be at increased risk of suicide. Authors have suggested that agitated depression can worsen with the use of antidepressants but can respond to options such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), lithium, anticonvulsants, antipsychotics, and benzodiazepines. Appropriate identification of this variant of depressive disorder is essential for proper treatment, as some of these patients might be labeled as resistant to treatment due to the worsening or lack of response to several antidepressant trials.