TITLE:
A comparison of duloxetine hydrochloride with fluoxetine hydrochloride in major depressive disorders: a pilot study
AUTHORS:
Ravinder Kumar Sah, Harmeet Singh Rehan, Kannanore Eloremadathil Sadanandan Unni, Deepti Chopra, Seema Manak, Preeta Kaur Narula
KEYWORDS:
Major Depressive Disorder; Duloxetine;Remission; Relapse
JOURNAL NAME:
Health,
Vol.2 No.6,
June
30,
2010
ABSTRACT: To compare remission rate, relapse rate and tolerability of duloxetine, a dual reuptake inhibitor of 5-hydroxy serotonin (5-HT) and norepinephrine (NE), versus fluoxetine, a reuptake inhibitor of 5-HT during follow up period of 16 weeks in major depressive disorder (MDD) a open label comparative trial was conducted. Trial was comprising of 60 patients, diagnosed with MDD, were allocated to fluoxetine group (n*-30, 20-60mg od) or duloxetine group (n*-30, 40-60mg od) for 16 weeks. The end points were remission and relapse assessed by Hamilton Rating scale for Depression-24 items (HAMD-24). In results the mean fall in HAMD-24 scores between groups was comparable till 4 weeks. Thereafter, at 8 weeks the mean fall in HAMD-24 score was significantly greater in duloxetine group (p value