Clinical Psychiatry News - Geriatric depression treatment
Venlafaxine is as effective as nortriptyline in treating moderate to severe depression in geriatric patients, reported Dr. Cristobal Gasto of the University of Barcelona (Spain) and his associates.
In a single-blind, randomized trial, 22 of 31 patients who received venlafaxine and 21 of 30 patients who received nortriptyline remitted by the end of a 6-month follow-up.
The autonomic side-effect subscores on the UKU side-effect rating scale were significantly worse for nortriptyline than venlafaxine (Effexor) patients.
Among all side effects that occurred in more than 5% of patients, orthostatic vertigo, dry mouth, and impaired accommodation occurred significantly more often in nortriptyline than in venlafaxine patients (J. Clin. Psychopharmacol. 23[1]:21-26, 2003).
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In addition, the invesigators found that venlafaxine given in high doses (225-300 mg/day) had a slightly better side-effect profile than nortriptyline (25-50 mg/day).
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