Results : Duloxetine may be an effective treatment for mood spectrum disorders , panic disorder , several symptom clusters of borderline personality , and as add-on drug in schizophrenia .
Modest or conflicting results have been found for the efficacy of duloxetine in obsessive-compulsive disorder , posttraumatic stress disorder , eating , and sexual disorders .
Background : Duloxetine hydrochloride ( DUL ) is an antidepressant included in the pharmacological class of serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors approved for the treatment of major depressive disorder , generalized anxiety disorder , diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain , fibromyalgia , and chronic musculoskeletal pain .
The aim of this review was to eluci date current evidence s on the use of DUL in the treatment of a variety of psychiatric disorders .
A randomized controlled trial of duloxetine versus placebo in the treatment of nonmajor chronic depression.
OBJECTIVE Numerous double-blind studies have assessed the efficacy of antidepressants in treating chronic depressive disorder , including dysthymic disorder , low- grade chronic depression . However , there are no double-blind , placebo-controlled studies of serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors in chronic depressive disorder . METHOD Out patients with chronic depressive disorder , but without concurrent major depressive disorder ( MDD ) , were r and omly assigned to prospect i ve double-blind duloxetine ( beginning at 30 mg/d , increased to a maximum dose of 120 mg/d ) versus placebo for 10 weeks . Inclusion criteria were current DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of dysthymic disorder or depression not otherwise specified , age 18 - 75 years , and a Hamilton Depression Rating Scale ( HDRS ) score ≥ 12 . Exclusion criteria included current major depression . The study was conducted between August 2006 and December 2011 . HDRS , Cornell Dysthymia Rating Scale ( CDRS ) , Clinical Global Impressions ( CGI ) , Beck Depression Inventory ( BDI ) , Global Assessment of Functioning ( GAF ) , Social Adjustment Scale ( SAS ) , and other assessment s were administered at each visit . We hypothesized that duloxetine would be superior to placebo in ( 1 ) 24-item HDRS total score , ( 2 ) the percentage of subjects classified as responders and remitters , and ( 3 ) secondary measures ( CDRS , BDI , CGI ) . Response was defined as > 50 % decrease in 24-item HDRS and CGI-Improvement scale score of 1 or 2 ( " very much improved " or " much improved " ) . Remission was defined as HDRS-17 item score ≤ 4 and 0 on item 1 of the HDRS ( depressed mood ) . RESULTS 65 subjects were enrolled , of whom 57 began medication . They ranged in age from 19 to 70 years ( mean ± SD = 41.63 ± 11.22 ) and included 24 women and 33 men . Baseline 24-item HDRS score ( mean ± SD ) for both groups was 20.75 ± 4.92 . After 10 weeks , duloxetine-treated subjects had significantly lower 24-item HDRS scores than placebo-treated subjects ( time-by-drug group effect on analysis of variance : F1,55 = 9.43 , P = .003 ) . Responder and remitter analyses significantly favored duloxetine treatment . The response rate was 65.5 % for duloxetine versus 25.0 % for placebo ( χ(2)(1 ) = 9.43 , P = .003 ) ; and the remitter rate was 55.2 % for duloxetine versus 14.3 % for placebo ( χ(2)(1 ) = 10.46 , P = .002 ) . After 10 weeks , duloxetine-treated subjects did not differ significantly better from placebo-treated subjects on the SAS ( time-by-drug group effect on analysis of variance : F(1,46 ) = 0.35 , P = .555 ) or on the GAF ( time-by-drug group effect on analysis of variance : F(1,51 ) = .01 , P = .922 ) . CONCLUSIONS Results on the 24-item HDRS , CGI , and CDRS suggest that duloxetine is efficacious in acute treatment of chronic nonmajor depressive disorder . Response and remission rates also differed significantly , favoring duloxetine treatment , but BDI , GAF , and social functioning ( Social Adjustment Scale ) did not . Duloxetine appears to be effective in acute treatment of nonmajor chronic depression . TRIAL REGISTRATION Clinical Trials.gov identifier : NCT00360724
Results : Duloxetine may be an effective treatment for mood spectrum disorders , panic disorder , several symptom clusters of borderline personality , and as add-on drug in schizophrenia .
Modest or conflicting results have been found for the efficacy of duloxetine in obsessive-compulsive disorder , posttraumatic stress disorder , eating , and sexual disorders .
Background : Duloxetine hydrochloride ( DUL ) is an antidepressant included in the pharmacological class of serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors approved for the treatment of major depressive disorder , generalized anxiety disorder , diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain , fibromyalgia , and chronic musculoskeletal pain .
The aim of this review was to eluci date current evidence s on the use of DUL in the treatment of a variety of psychiatric disorders .