Anti-INFLammatory to Address Mood and Endothelial Dysfunction (INFLAMED)
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2014-05-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
The objective of this clinical trial is to evaluate whether an anti-inflammatory medication,
pentoxifylline, reduces depressive symptoms and improves artery function. Participants in
this trial will be older primary care patients (60 years and up) who are depressed but do not
have a history of cardiovascular disease. Half of these patients will receive pentoxifylline,
and half will receive placebo. In addition, participants in both arms will receive an
evidence-based psychological treatment called Beating the Blues®, which is a computerized,
cognitive behavioral treatment program for depression. The investigators will use
questionnaires to assess change in depressive symptoms and an ultrasound test to measure
change in artery function from pre- to post-treatment. It is hypothesized that patients who
receive pentoxifylline will show greater improvements in both depression and artery function
than patients who receive placebo.