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 .
Physician prognosis in relationship to drug and placebo response in anxious and depressed psychiatric outpatients.
The relationship between treating physician 's prognosis and treatment response to active drug or placebo in sample s of 517 anxious and 569 depressed out patients who had participated in 4-week double-blind drug trials was examined . Log-linear analyses employing diagnosis , prognosis , treatment ( active drug or placebo ) , and treatment response were conducted . Anxious patients had been treated with either chlordiazepoxide or placebo , and depressed patients had received either amitriptyline or placebo . Significant differences were found , suggesting that physician prognosis is related to pharmacologically induced symptom relief in anxious but not in depressed patients . In the depressed patient sample , prognosis and improvement were found to be significantly related in placebo but not drug-treated patients
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 .