Mirtazapine was significantly more effective than a serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor ( venlafaxine only , two trials , n = 415 ) at two weeks ( OR 2.29 , 95 % CI 1.45 to 3.59 ) and at the end of acute-phase treatment ( OR 1.53 , 95 % CI 1.03 to 2.25).In terms of dropouts , there was no robust evidence to detect a difference between mirtazapine and other antidepressants .
Mirtazapine was more likely to cause weight gain or increased appetite and somnolence than SSRIs but less likely to cause nausea or vomiting and sexual dysfunction .
AUTHORS ' CONCLUSIONS Some statistically significant and possibly clinical ly meaningful differences between mirtazapine and other antidepressive agents were found for the acute-phase treatment of major depression .
Mirtazapine is likely to have a faster onset of action than SSRIs during the acute-phase treatment .
Dropouts occur similarly in participants treated with mirtazapine and those treated with other antidepressants , although the adverse event profile of mirtazapine is unique
BACKGROUND Mirtazapine has a unique mechanism of antidepressive action and is one of the commonly used antidepressants in clinical practice .
OBJECTIVES The aim of the present review was to assess the evidence on the efficacy and acceptability of mirtazapine compared with other antidepressive agents in the acute-phase treatment of major depression in adults .
A preliminary study on the efficacy of sertraline and imipramine on anger attacks in atypical depression and dysthymia.
There is clinical and biological evidence suggesting that patients with anger attacks , sudden spells of anger accompanied by intense autonomic activation , may represent a distinct psychopathological subgroup of patients with depressive disorders . We compared the prevalence of anger attacks in 168 out patients with atypical depression or primary dysthymia with 38 normal subjects and tested the effect of treatment on anger attacks in a double-blind , placebo-controlled trial of sertraline versus imipramine .  Patients were r and omly assigned to sertraline ( n = 56 ) , imipramine ( n = 52 ) , or placebo ( n = 60 ) and were administered the Anger Attacks Question naire before and after treatment . Depressed out patients were significantly more likely to report anger attacks than controls . Anger attacks ceased in 53 percent of the patients receiving sertraline , 57 percent of those receiving imipramine , and 37 percent of those in the placebo group . Our findings support previous studies indicating that anger attacks are more prevalent among depressed out patients than normals . Our results also suggest that sertraline and imipramine may be more effective than placebo in reducing the number of anger attacks following treatment although the differences were not statistically significant . Larger studies are needed to confirm our findings
Mirtazapine was significantly more effective than a serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor ( venlafaxine only , two trials , n = 415 ) at two weeks ( OR 2.29 , 95 % CI 1.45 to 3.59 ) and at the end of acute-phase treatment ( OR 1.53 , 95 % CI 1.03 to 2.25).In terms of dropouts , there was no robust evidence to detect a difference between mirtazapine and other antidepressants .
Mirtazapine was more likely to cause weight gain or increased appetite and somnolence than SSRIs but less likely to cause nausea or vomiting and sexual dysfunction .
AUTHORS ' CONCLUSIONS Some statistically significant and possibly clinical ly meaningful differences between mirtazapine and other antidepressive agents were found for the acute-phase treatment of major depression .
Mirtazapine is likely to have a faster onset of action than SSRIs during the acute-phase treatment .
Dropouts occur similarly in participants treated with mirtazapine and those treated with other antidepressants , although the adverse event profile of mirtazapine is unique
BACKGROUND Mirtazapine has a unique mechanism of antidepressive action and is one of the commonly used antidepressants in clinical practice .
OBJECTIVES The aim of the present review was to assess the evidence on the efficacy and acceptability of mirtazapine compared with other antidepressive agents in the acute-phase treatment of major depression in adults .