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 .
Experimental Examination of Trazodone
Summary : To establish the differential indication of trazodone and to find the predictors of its efficacy , we conducted a study in which 45 patients with major depressive disorder and 75 patients with acute schizophrenia were r and omly assigned under double‐blind conditions to either 400 mg trazodone daily , 150 mg amitriptyline daily , 20 mg haloperidol daily , or placebo daily . At the beginning of the investigations , numerous variables ( basic data , MMPI , AMDP , HAM‐A , HAM‐D ) were documented and evaluated on days 3 , 7 , 14 , and 21 . In our study , trazodone proved to be as effective an antidepressant drug as amitriptyline . In group comparison , no antipsychotic action of trazodone in schizophrenic patients could be proved . Yet the trazodone treatment was clearly of less risk than the amitriptyline treatment . Under trazodone , provocation of schizophrenic symptoms , which occurred numerously under amitriptyline , was found only in one patient out of 17 schizophrenics . Related to anamnesis and characteristics of the schizophrenic patient , a predictor‐variable concerning the antipsychotic effect was not found . It can be assured , however , that patients with depressive symptoms  ( regarding the entity classification ) respond to trazodone . After only 7 days of trazodone treatment , a relatively reliable decision can be established as to whether a therapeutical success can be expected if treatment is continued
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 .