Amitriptyline is an efficacious antidepressant drug .
It is , however , also associated with a number of side effects .
Degree of placebo response and severity of depression at baseline may moderate drug-placebo efficacy differences
BACKGROUND Amitriptyline is a tricyclic antidepressant that was synthesis ed in 1960 and introduced as early as 1961 in the USA , but is still regularly used .
It has also been frequently used as an active comparator in trials on newer antidepressants and can therefore be called a ' benchmark ' antidepressant .
However , its efficacy and safety compared to placebo in the treatment of major depression has not been assessed in a systematic review and meta- analysis .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of amitriptyline compared to placebo or no treatment for major depressive disorder in adults .
Nonspecific factors and side effect complaints: FACTORS AFFECTING THE INCIDENCE OF DROWSINESS IN DRUG AND PLACEBO TREATED ANXIOUS AND DEPRESSED OUTPATIENTS
Discriminant function analyses were applied to data obtained from anxious psychiatric out patients treated with either chlordiazepoxide ( n = 353 ) or placebo ( n = 259 ) and depressed out patients treated with either amitriptyline ( n = 310 ) or placebo ( n = 328 ) , who had participated in controlled drug trials of 4 weeks ’ duration , in an attempt to identify factors associated with complaints of drowsiness made by these patients . Although the magnitude of the relationships between individual predictors and drowsiness was small , several factors emerged which had consistent impact across treatment groups . Predictors of complaints of drowsiness attributed to active drugs arose primarily from demographic attributes probably reflective of life style , and from illness and treatment history . In contrast , predictors of drowsiness attributed to placebo were almost exclusively confined to indices of the severity of several aspects of presenting symptomatology . In particular , more frequent complaints of drug‐induced drowsiness were found among better educated individuals with an illness of long duration . Complaints of placebeinduced drowsiness were more common among patients with more severe emotional ( phobic‐obsessive ) symptomatology and more frequent headaches and among those individuals in whom hypochondriasis was less severe
Amitriptyline is an efficacious antidepressant drug .
It is , however , also associated with a number of side effects .
Degree of placebo response and severity of depression at baseline may moderate drug-placebo efficacy differences
BACKGROUND Amitriptyline is a tricyclic antidepressant that was synthesis ed in 1960 and introduced as early as 1961 in the USA , but is still regularly used .
It has also been frequently used as an active comparator in trials on newer antidepressants and can therefore be called a ' benchmark ' antidepressant .
However , its efficacy and safety compared to placebo in the treatment of major depression has not been assessed in a systematic review and meta- analysis .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of amitriptyline compared to placebo or no treatment for major depressive disorder in adults .