The authors of this review consider that there is no indication left for tricyclic antidepressants or MAOIs as first-line therapy for any depressive or anxiety disorder. The reason for this is, aside from the known side effects of tricyclic antidepressants, the long list of physical disorders that are a contraindication to tricyclic antidepressants: heart failure, cardiac conduction disorder, hepatic insufficiency, renal insufficiency, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease,

cerebrovascular disease, etc. Are two antidepressants better than one? The clinician can rightly ask whether there is an advantage in combining two antidepressants to multiply the targets of pharmacological actions and achieve a higher rate of efficacy. Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical In clinical practice, the combination of two recent antidepressants is common. One Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical such combination has been known for years, ie, to add a sedative to compensate for the stimulation

due to an antidepressant; trazodone, nefazodone, mianserin, and mirtazapine can be used as sedatives, acting on sleep difficulties and anxiety in patients receiving a stimulating antidepressant. The combination of two antidepressants in other situations should be limited. In treatment-resistant patients, it is logical to combine antidepressants with different pharmacological modes of action Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical and different clinical configurations (for example, a stimulating SSRI such as sertraline with a low or moderate dose of a sedating compound such as mirtazapine or nefazodone). There are no controlled clinical trials to confirm the benefit of combining two antidepressants. Is there a better response at higher doses of antidepressants? Drug-monitoring studies have indicated a linear or curvilinear relationship Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical between efficacy and concentration of tricyclic antidepressants such as imipramine, desipramine, and nortriptyline. Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical Proteasome inhibitor However, recent results from the Danish University Antidepressant. Group (DUAG) have shown little difference between clomipramine doses of 25, 50, 75, 1 25, and 200 mg/day in severely depressed patients.25 With fluoxetine, 5 mg/day seems to be

clinically equivalent to 20 or 40 mg/day, in terms of antidepressant effect.26 There are hints that venlafaxine, nefazodone, and reboxetine are more efficacious Isotretinoin at higher doses. The explanation put forward is that the pharmacological mode of action differs as a function of the dose, a point that is difficult to prove in humans; for example, it has been said that at low doses venlafaxine acts as an SSRI, and only at higher doses docs it influence the reuptake of noradrenaline.27 While the existence of a better response at higher doses of antidepressant is a subject, of debate, there is consensus about the increased risk of side effects at higher doses.4 For example, dosages of 225 or 375 mg/day venlafaxine lead to 24% and 30% dropouts, respectively, in comparison to 17% for 75 mg/day and 5% for placebo.