Influence of personality on response to monoamine oxidase inhibitors and tricyclic antidepressants.
Fifty patients who had previously been treated with both a monoamine oxidase inhibitor and a tricyclic antidepressant at different times were rated using an interview schedule to assess abnormal personality. Thirty-four per cent of the sample were found to have an abnormal personality with anankastic (obsessional) personality being the most frequent. Those who failed to respond to either treatment were significantly more likely to have an abnormal personality than those who did respond. There was some evidence to support the view that patients who improved on monoamine oxidase inhibitors showed fewer abnormal personality traits, particularly for sensitivity, pessimism and hypochrondriasis, than those who improved on tricyclic antidepressants.