Efficacy, safety, and tolerability of augmentation pharmacotherapy with aripiprazole for treatment-resistant…
If we add aripiprazole to my antidepressant, what is the plan for catching restlessness (akathisia) or tremor early, and what would we do then?
Top of the evidence hierarchy, independently funded. how we score evidence
In 181 adults aged 60 or older whose depression had not remitted on an antidepressant, adding aripiprazole led to remission in 44% versus 29% with placebo, but caused akathisia (restlessness) in 26% versus 12%.
Worth asking
If we add aripiprazole to my antidepressant, what is the plan for catching restlessness (akathisia) or tremor early, and what would we do then?
What it is FDA approved for
Read off the label. Trial duration and approval year are shown only where they were recorded — never inferred.
- Schizophrenia (adults and adolescents 13-17)
- Bipolar I disorder, acute and maintenance treatment of manic and mixed episodes, monotherapy or adjunct to lithium/valproate (adults and ages 10-17)
- Adjunctive treatment of major depressive disorder (adults)
- Irritability associated with autistic disorder (ages 6-17)
- Tourette's disorder (ages 6-18)
- Agitation associated with schizophrenia or bipolar mania (injection, adults)
Source
Efficacy, safety, and tolerability of augmentation pharmacotherapy with aripiprazole for treatment-resistant depression in late life: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial — Lenze EJ, et al. (2015)
Top-tier peer-reviewed journal
Read the source: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)00308-6
DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(15)00308-6
How this was scored
- Study design
- Randomised controlled trial
- Funding
- Independently funded
- Published in
- Top-tier peer-reviewed journal
- Sample size
- 181
- Preregistered
- Yes
- Conflicts disclosed
- No
- Independent of proponent
- Yes
- Retracted
- No
Read the full scoring rubric, including what it can't tell you.
Published August 19, 2026.
Questions
How strong is the evidence behind this?
Resolv rates this source "gold standard". Top of the evidence hierarchy, independently funded. It scores 85 out of 100 on our published rubric. The score is calculated from recorded facts about the source — study design, funding, publication venue, sample size, preregistration — not typed in by an editor.
What is the source for this?
Efficacy, safety, and tolerability of augmentation pharmacotherapy with aripiprazole for treatment-resistant depression in late life: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial — Lenze EJ, et al. (2015). Published in: Top-tier peer-reviewed journal. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(15)00308-6. The full source is linked on this page so you can read it yourself.
Who paid for this research, and does that matter?
Study design: Randomised controlled trial. Funding: Independently funded. The researchers were independent of whoever benefits from the result. Industry sponsorship is one of the most reliably measured biases in medicine, which is why funding carries real weight in the score rather than sitting in a footnote.
Is aripiprazole (Abilify), abilify FDA approved?
Yes — FDA approved for Schizophrenia (adults and adolescents 13-17), Bipolar I disorder, acute and maintenance treatment of manic and mixed episodes, monotherapy or adjunct to lithium/valproate (adults and ages 10-17), Adjunctive treatment of major depressive disorder (adults), Irritability associated with autistic disorder (ages 6-17), Tourette's disorder (ages 6-18), Agitation associated with schizophrenia or bipolar mania (injection, adults). Approval is for a specific indication, not for everything the drug is prescribed for.
Is this medical advice?
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.