In the present study, we examined the effects of acute treatment with paroxetine on the consumption of cigarette smoking and caffeine in 65 patients who met the DSM-IV criteria for major depressive disorder (M/F: 28/37, age: 48 +/- 15 years). Plasma levels of cotinine or caffeine were analysed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The amount of cigarette smoking and plasma levels of cotinine, but not caffeine, decreased 4 weeks after paroxetine treatment. There was no difference between smokers and nonsmokers with respect to their response to paroxetine treatment. In addition, plasma 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) levels in responders to paroxetine treatment was higher than those in nonresponders, and there was a negative correlation between the changes in plasma MHPG levels and the changes in Hamilton rating scale for depression (Ham-D) scores before and 4 weeks after paroxetine administration. These results suggest that paroxetine has the potential to reduce the amount of cigarette smoking in depressed smokers, and we reconfirmed our previous results that depressed patients with higher plasma MHPG levels had better response to paroxetine treatment than those with lower plasma MHPG levels using larger depressed samples.
Copyright 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.