Newer antidepressants compared to psychosocial therapies Gaps in Knowledge. There were no trials comparing newer agents to educational or supportive counseling. Only one small trial compared psychotherapy directly to a newer agent in adults. These data were too limited to determine if newer antidepressants are more or less effective than psychosocial therapies. Newer antidepressants in children, older adults, and other special populations Multiple antidepressants proved to be better than placebo in treating major depression in older adults.
Antidepressants appear equally effective.
Dropouts overall and due to adverse effects do not differ significantly between older and newer antidepressants. Gaps in Knowledge. Gaps in knowledge for selected populations of special interest are substantial. A small number of studies evaluated newer antidepressants in patients with depression and either alcoholism, chronic fatigue syndrome, HIV disease, ischemic heart disease, renal failure, or stroke. The results are conflicting and insufficient to reliably determine the efficacy of newer agents compared to placebo or older agents.