dothiepin-hydrochloride and Body-Weight

Fluoxetine, a selective inhibitor of 5-HT uptake, was compared to dothiepin in a double-blind study of 6 weeks duration in 100 depressed patients (male and female) drawn from 8 general practices. Only those who scored at least 17 on the first 17 questions of the Hamilton Psychiatric Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) were selected. Both groups improved throughout the trial, though the dothiepin treated patients tended to improve quicker. However, by the end of the trial there was no statistically significant difference between the 2 groups. Subset analyses of HAM-D scores associated with anxiety and sleep revealed no statistically significant differences between the 2 treatments though improvement in anxiety scores was marginally greater for those receiving fluoxetine by the end of the trial. Other global assessments by patients and doctors confirmed the changes in HAM-D scores. Statistically significant weight changes occurred between visits 1 and 5. Whereas fluoxetine-treated patients lost weight (p less than 0.05), dothiepin-treated patients gained weight (p = 0.05) over this period. Adverse effects were reported in 27 patients given fluoxetine and 20 dothiepin. Of these, 14 fluoxetine and 7 dothiepin-treated patients withdrew before the end of the trial. The most common adverse effects were nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea in the fluoxetine group and tiredness, drowsiness and diarrhoea in the dothiepin group. There were no haematological or clinical chemistry changes.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Body Weight; Clinical Trials as Topic; Depression; Dibenzothiepins; Dothiepin; Double-Blind Method; Female; Fluoxetine; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Random Allocation

A double-blind between-group trial was undertaken in fifty depressed patients to compare the efficacy of a sustained release form of amitriptyline (Lentizol) with dothiepin (Prothiaden) over a 5-week period. Patients fulfilling defined admission criteria were randomly allocated to treatment with evening dosage of either 50 mg of the sustained release preparation or 75 mg of dothiepin for the first week of the trial. Subject to review as necessary, these dosages were doubled at the end of the first week. Both drugs effected significant and appreciable improvement over the 5-week period, with the mean responses at the end of the trial retaining the same relative positions as at the beginning.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Amitriptyline; Body Weight; Clinical Trials as Topic; Delayed-Action Preparations; Depression; Dibenzothiepins; Dothiepin; Double-Blind Method; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Male; Middle Aged