Evidence from meta- analysis of r and omised controlled trials ( RCTs ) and r and omised pragmatic trials was found in support of greater efficacy of the serotonin noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors ( SNRIs ) , venlafaxine and duloxetine , in moderate to severe depression compared to SSRIs but no evidence was found for superiority of milnacipran .
There is sufficient current evidence that demonstrates an increase in efficacy , when noradrenaline reuptake is added to serotonin ( 5-HT ) reuptake , to suggest that patients with severe depression or those who have failed to reach remission with a SSRI may benefit from treatment with a SNRI .
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors ( SSRIs ) are recommended as first-line pharmacological treatment for depression and are the most commonly prescribed class of antidepressants .
However , there is substantial evidence that noradrenaline has a role in the pathogenesis and treatment of depression .
This review aims to examine the evidence of including noradrenaline reuptake inhibition with serotonin reuptake inhibition with respect to increasing efficacy in the treatment of depression .
Paroxetine: a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor showing better tolerance, but weaker antidepressant effect than clomipramine in a controlled multicenter study. Danish University Antidepressant Group.
Antidepressant effects and unintended effects of paroxetine ( 30 mg/day ) and clomipramine ( 150 mg/day ) were compared in a double-blind , r and omized , inpatient , fixed-dose , plasma-level-controlled study . Patients with a DSM-III diagnosis of major depressive disorder participated . After 1 week of single-blind placebo treatment  120 patients fulfilled the criterion of a Hamilton ( 17-item ) score of greater than or equal to 18 and were started on active treatment for 6 weeks . Drop-outs on paroxetine ( n = 12 ) were largely due to lack of effect , and on clomipramine ( n = 19 ) due to lack of effect ( n = 7 ) , adverse reactions or severe side effects ( n = 10 ) and development of mania ( n = 2 ) . According to the protocol , non-responders ( Hamilton total greater than or equal to 16 ) after 4 weeks active treatment were terminated , and this occurred to 23 patients on paroxetine and four patients on clomipramine . Categorical response measures and group averages of rating scores showed a significantly better therapeutic effect of clomipramine from the second week of treatment on . These results are very similar to our earlier results with another selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor ( citalopram ) , but generally at variance with the literature on this class of antidepressants , which , however , mostly deals with outpatient studies
Evidence from meta- analysis of r and omised controlled trials ( RCTs ) and r and omised pragmatic trials was found in support of greater efficacy of the serotonin noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors ( SNRIs ) , venlafaxine and duloxetine , in moderate to severe depression compared to SSRIs but no evidence was found for superiority of milnacipran .
There is sufficient current evidence that demonstrates an increase in efficacy , when noradrenaline reuptake is added to serotonin ( 5-HT ) reuptake , to suggest that patients with severe depression or those who have failed to reach remission with a SSRI may benefit from treatment with a SNRI .
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors ( SSRIs ) are recommended as first-line pharmacological treatment for depression and are the most commonly prescribed class of antidepressants .
However , there is substantial evidence that noradrenaline has a role in the pathogenesis and treatment of depression .
This review aims to examine the evidence of including noradrenaline reuptake inhibition with serotonin reuptake inhibition with respect to increasing efficacy in the treatment of depression .