There were no other statistically significant differences between lithium and antidepressants according to all other outcomes considered .
AUTHORS ' CONCLUSIONS There was adequate efficacy evidence for lithium or antidepressants preventing relapse in unipolar affective disorder , however their relative efficacy was unknown .
BACKGROUND The main rationale for the use of lithium in the long-term treatment of unipolar affective disorder is its efficacy in treating bipolar affective disorder and resistant depression .
However , there is considerable uncertainty about which pharmacological intervention is most effective in the long-term treatment of recurrent unipolar affective disorder .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of lithium versus antidepressants for the long-term treatment of recurrent affective disorder .
Brofaromine versus lithium addition to maprotiline. A double-blind study in maprotiline refractory depressed outpatients.
Depressed out patients ( n = 51 ) resistant to treatment with maprotiline were treated in a blind , r and omized , single-centre study , for 6 weeks with either the reversible and selective monoamine oxidase A-inhibitor ( MAO-A-I ) , brofaromine or lithium addition to maprotiline . The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression was scored by an independent rater before and after the 6 week treatment period . No significant differences in efficacy were found between the two treatment regimes . In the patients who completed the trial , brofaromine was well tolerated with the exception of insomnia . Anticholinergic effects as well as thyroid dysfunctions ( 17 out of 20 ) were more frequent in the maprotiline/lithium group
There were no other statistically significant differences between lithium and antidepressants according to all other outcomes considered .
AUTHORS ' CONCLUSIONS There was adequate efficacy evidence for lithium or antidepressants preventing relapse in unipolar affective disorder , however their relative efficacy was unknown .
BACKGROUND The main rationale for the use of lithium in the long-term treatment of unipolar affective disorder is its efficacy in treating bipolar affective disorder and resistant depression .
However , there is considerable uncertainty about which pharmacological intervention is most effective in the long-term treatment of recurrent unipolar affective disorder .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of lithium versus antidepressants for the long-term treatment of recurrent affective disorder .