Novel augmentation therapy with cilostazol for the geriatric major depressive disorder patient with deep white matter hyperintensities on T2-weighted brain MRI: a case report.

In our search of a new augmentation therapy for geriatric patients with intractable depression, we administered cilostazol, an antiplatelet agent, in addition to conventional antidepressants to a patient with persistent major depressive disorder showing deep white matter hyperintensities on a T2-weighted magnetic resonance image and evaluated cerebral blood flow before and after the administration of cilostazol by 99m Tc-ethyl-cysteinate dimer single photon emission computed tomography. This patient showed improvements of depressive symptoms as well as an increase in cerebral blood flow. These findings suggest a potential efficacy of cilostazol as a new drug for use in augmentation therapy for depressed patients with deep white matter hyperintensities.