TY - JOUR T1 - The Hamilton Depression Scale—accelerator or break on antidepressant drug discovery? JF - Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry JO - J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry SP - 119 LP - 120 DO - 10.1136/jnnp-2013-306984 VL - 85 IS - 2 AU - David Nutt Y1 - 2014/02/01 UR - http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/85/2/119.abstract N2 - A rating scale for depressionAuthor: Max HamiltonPublished: J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 1960;23:56–62Total citations: 15882 Fifty years ago Max Hamilton published the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) scale for rating depression1—specifically, changes in this state that might be used to monitor treatment progress. It proved exceptionally popular being one of—if not the—most cited paper in psychiatry and propelling Max to the top of the all-time citation charts in psychiatric journals—just behind Freud. Hamilton was born in Germany in 1912, but the family moved to England in 1915, changing their name from Himmelschein. He studied medicine at University College London (UCL), then trained in psychiatry at the Maudsley Hospital. He returned to UCL when Sir Aubrey Lewis declined to renew his contract. His talents were however recognised and encouraged at UCL, and his interest in psychometrics developed and was then further encouraged during a period working for Dennis Hill. He then moved to the University of Leeds where, working as a lecturer he developed his scale. The reasons for its success are clear. It was an idea for its time: the field was undergoing a … ER -