@article{3046805,
    title = "THE PROGNOSTIC IMPORTANCE OF DELUSIONS IN DEPRESSION - A 6-YEAR
PROSPECTIVE FOLLOW-UP-STUDY",
    author = "LYKOURAS, L and CHRISTODOULOU, GN and MALLIARAS, D and STEFANIS, C",
    journal = "Journal of Affective Disorders",
    year = "1994",
    volume = "32",
    number = "4",
    pages = "233-238",
    publisher = "ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV",
    issn = "0165-0327",
    doi = "10.1016/0165-0327(94)90086-8",
    keywords = "DELUSION; DEPRESSION; FOLLOW-UP; PSYCHOPROPHYLAXIS",
    abstract = "The authors followed 32 delusional and 41 unipolar non-delusional
depressed patients 6 years after hospital discharge. Long-term outcome,
as determined by the frequency of the relapses, number of
hospitalizations, chronic course of illness as well as clinical status
and global functioning at the end of the 6-year period, failed to
differentiate the two patient groups. Discontinuation of maintenance
medication in both groups or of antipsychotics in the delusional group
was associated with a high rate of relapses. Our findings indicate that
delusional depression has a similar clinical course to that of
non-delusional depression, underline the importance of
psychoprophylactic treatment and question the efficacy of monotherapy
with antidepressants in the prevention of relapses of delusional
depression."
}