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Paroxetine in the treatment of depression
Author(s) -
Mertens C.,
Pintens H.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
acta psychiatrica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.849
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1600-0447
pISSN - 0001-690X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1988.tb05188.x
Subject(s) - paroxetine , mianserin , somnolence , antidepressant , anticholinergic , medicine , depression (economics) , psychology , reuptake inhibitor , anesthesia , adverse effect , macroeconomics , hippocampus , economics
— Paroxetine is a new antidepressant drug. It is a potent and selective 5‐HT re‐uptake inhibitor with only weak anticholinergic properties and less effect on the cardiovascular system than the classical tricyclics. In this double‐blind multicenter study the antidepressant effect of paroxetine was compared with mianserin in 70 patients with unipolar or bipolar depression. Each drug was administered for 6 weeks after a 1 week run‐in period at a daily dosage of 30 mg for paroxetine or 60 mg for mianserin. The 21‐item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM‐D) and the physician's global assessment were used to assess efficacy. Both treatment groups showed statistically significant improvement of the HAM‐D at Weeks 1 (base‐line values: paroxetine mean 28.5; mianserin mean 30.8) through to Week 6 (paroxetine mean 11.5; mianserin mean 17.8) ( P < 0.06). The endpoint differences between treatments however were not statistically different ( P = 0.11). The Cleary and Guy factor analysis showed a significant difference ( P < 0.03) at Weeks 2 and 4 for cognitive disturbance and at Weeks 4 and 6 for retardation in favour of paroxetine compared with mianserin. Both drugs were well tolerated with nausea and headache in four patients and somnolence in six patients being reported as the most common side‐effect for paroxetine and mianserin respectively.