Abstract
Eighteen patients with refractory depression (dysthymia with superimposed major depression) were treated with a combination of fluvoxamine and moclobemide for 6 weeks and compared with 18 patients treated with fluvoxamine only. Both groups had improved only slightly after 8 weeks of TCA treatment and 6 weeks of SSRI treatment. Two main observations can be made concerning safety and efficacy. Firstly, side effects in the SSRI-RIMA group were minimal. Secondly, the SSRI-RIMA combination treatment significantly improved depression in refractory depressed patients, with a decrease in depression of about 40%. The SSRI mono-therapy group also significantly improved, though only by about 20%, indicating that positive effects of SSRI treatment may still develop even after 12 weeks of treatment. In conclusion, the study gives further support to the hypothesis that SSRI-RIMA combinations may be safe and well tolerated. This treatment may also offer some therapeutic advantages in at least some patients who have not responded to conventional pharmacological treatment.
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Ebert, D., Albert, R., May, A. et al. Combined SSRI-RIMA treatment in refractory depression safety data and efficacy. Psychopharmacology 119, 342–344 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02246301
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02246301