Treatment with SSRIs rather than placebo was associated with clinical improvement by the end of the first week of use .
CONCLUSIONS Treatment with SSRIs is associated with symptomatic improvement in depression by the end of the first week of use , and the improvement continues at a decreasing rate for at least 6 weeks
CONTEXT Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors ( SSRIs ) are often described as having a delayed onset of effect in the treatment of depression .
However , some trials have reported clinical improvement as early as the first week of treatment .
OBJECTIVE To test the alternative hypotheses of delayed vs early onset of antidepressant action with SSRIs in patients with unipolar depression .
A double-blind comparison of fluvoxamine, desipramine and placebo in outpatients with depression
1 . The efficacy of fluvoxamine is compared to that of desipramine in a multicenter double blind placebo controlled six-week flexible dose trial of 90 out patients with major depressive disorder . 2 . Although overall drug effects were relatively weak , there were trends suggesting separation of both active drugs from placebo at week six . Both drugs were well tolerated . 3 . Studies of major depression ought to be design ed to last 8 - 10 weeks in order to demonstrate placebo active drug differences and the stability of such a difference should it occur in the first six weeks
Treatment with SSRIs rather than placebo was associated with clinical improvement by the end of the first week of use .
CONCLUSIONS Treatment with SSRIs is associated with symptomatic improvement in depression by the end of the first week of use , and the improvement continues at a decreasing rate for at least 6 weeks
CONTEXT Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors ( SSRIs ) are often described as having a delayed onset of effect in the treatment of depression .
However , some trials have reported clinical improvement as early as the first week of treatment .
OBJECTIVE To test the alternative hypotheses of delayed vs early onset of antidepressant action with SSRIs in patients with unipolar depression .