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The Place of Milnacipran in the Treatment of Depression
Author(s) -
Kasper S.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
human psychopharmacology: clinical and experimental
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.461
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1099-1077
pISSN - 0885-6222
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1077(199709)12:3+<s135::aid-hup944>3.0.co;2-z
Subject(s) - milnacipran , depression (economics) , psychology , psychiatry , antidepressant , economics , anxiety , macroeconomics
Modern community‐based studies have revealed high prevalence rates for major depression in adults. Despite this high prevalence, many depressed individuals do not seek treatment and only a minority of those that do are prescribed antidepressants. This paper considers the role of antidepressants, especially of milnacipran in the treatment of major depression. Milnacipran inhibits the reuptake of serotonin and noradrenaline (SNRI) in a selective manner without affecting various postsynaptic receptor sites; this results in a favourable tolerability profile of the drug. Minimising adverse events is important to enhance patient compliance and facilitate the administration of therapeutic doses of antidepressants. Data from placebo‐controlled trials and the results of comparator studies involving TCAs and SSRIs have confirmed that milnacipran is an effective and well tolerated antidepressant, particularly useful in patients with severe depression. A recent pharmacoeconomic study has confirmed that milnacipran is a cost effective alternative to TCAs and SSRIs in the treatment of severe depression. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.