Fluoxetine versus trazodone in depressed geriatric patients.

A total of 27 subjects began active treatment in this double-blind study comparing the efficacy and safety of trazodone and fluoxetine in geriatric depressed patients, but only 13 completed 6 weeks on study medication. Both agents were effective according to weekly and endpoint analyses, and there was no evidence of significant effects on blood pressure, pulse, or weight. Separate analysis of patients who had received an adequate trial of medication indicated a trend toward relatively more fluoxetine-treated patients meeting clinical criteria for resolved depression.

Adjunct low dose lithium carbonate in treatment-resistant depression: a placebo-controlled study.

Resistance to antidepressant therapy is a common clinical problem in the treatment of affective disorders. Adjunctive low dose lithium is a promising strategy based on biochemical models and encouraging clinical trials. After a mean duration of 9.

Dothiepin hydrochloride: treatment efficacy and safety.

Dothiepin, a thio analogue of amitriptyline, has been used extensively in Europe during the past 15 years. It is a safe and effective agent for the treatment of major depressive disorder. Although the onset of action is comparable to that of other tricyclic antidepressants, dothiepin may cause fewer intolerable side effects and have less cardiotoxicity than these other compounds.

Monoamine oxidase inhibitors in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The authors describe the use of monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) in eight patients with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder. In four cases, the MAOIs produced rapid and sustained remission of symptoms; no response was seen in four other patients. All patients who responded to MAOIs, but none of the nonresponders, had phobic anxiety and/or panic attacks.