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In Reply.—
We appreciate Dr Cudrin's comments suggesting alternative interpretations of our findings regarding HDRS scores in male vs female cocaine abusers. Although there are other explanations for this finding, we do not believe that this necessarily implies that we reached the "wrong" conclusion. For example, the fact that the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory Depression scale scores are typically higher in women than men in general population surveys does not necessarily imply a similar sex difference in HDRS scores in cocaine-dependent patients. Indeed, there is a paucity of baseline data regarding sex differences in cocaine abusers, as Dr Cudrin notes.Second, Dr Cudrin fails to address the fact that in our study HDRS scores among men and women without major depression were equal at the time of admission to the hospital. If women have higher baseline HDRS scores than men, then one could explain the equivalent scores at admission as