CONCLUSIONS This systematic review provides evidence for the efficacy of both SSRIs and TCAs in the treatment of chronic depression and showed a better acceptability of SSRIs
INTRODUCTION Chronic depression represents a substantial portion of depressive disorders and is associated with severe consequences .
This review examined the efficacy and acceptability of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors ( SSRIs ) and tricyclic antidepressants ( TCAs ) in the treatment of chronic depression .
Additionally , the comparative effectiveness of the two types of antidepressants has been examined .
The treatment of chronic depression, part 2: a double-blind, randomized trial of sertraline and imipramine.
BACKGROUND Chronic depression appears to be a common , frequently disabling illness that is often inadequately treated . Unlike episodic depressions with shorter illness duration , neither acute nor long-term treatment approaches for chronic depression have been well studied . METHOD 635 out patients at 12 sites who met DSM-III-R criteria for chronic major depression or double depression were r and omly assigned to 12 weeks of double-blind treatment with either sertraline ( in daily doses of 50 - 200 mg ) or imipramine ( in daily doses of 50 - 300 mg ) . Efficacy and safety were assessed either weekly or every 2 weeks during the 12 weeks of acute treatment . RESULTS Despite high rates of chronicity ( mean duration of major depression = 8.9+/-9.1 years ; mean duration of dysthymia = 23+/-13 years ) and high rates of comorbidity , 52 % of patients achieved a satisfactory therapeutic response to sertraline or imipramine ( by a conservative , intent-to-treat analysis ) . Approximately 21 % of the patients who had achieved a therapeutic response at week 12 had not done so at week 8 , confirming the longer time to response in depressions with high chronicity . Patients treated with sertraline reported significantly fewer adverse events and were significantly less likely to discontinue treatment due to side effects than imipramine-treated patients ( 6.3 % vs. 12.0 % ) . CONCLUSION These results indicate that patients suffering from depression with high chronicity can achieve a good therapeutic response to acute treatment with either sertraline or imipramine , although sertraline is better tolerated
CONCLUSIONS This systematic review provides evidence for the efficacy of both SSRIs and TCAs in the treatment of chronic depression and showed a better acceptability of SSRIs
INTRODUCTION Chronic depression represents a substantial portion of depressive disorders and is associated with severe consequences .
This review examined the efficacy and acceptability of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors ( SSRIs ) and tricyclic antidepressants ( TCAs ) in the treatment of chronic depression .
Additionally , the comparative effectiveness of the two types of antidepressants has been examined .