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Biomedical subjects

R Capponi

Publications and source records attributed to R Capponi.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Affect and power

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Journal Article↗

A double-blind comparative trial of moclobemide v. imipramine and placebo in major depressive episodes.

Patients (n = 490) suffering from a major depressive episode according to DSM-III criteria were randomly allocated to groups receiving either moclobemide, imipramine, or placebo treatment. Subjects were treated as out-patients for 6 weeks. On overall assessment of efficacy and on results of the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, both moclobemide and imipramine were superior to placebo, but the differences between moclobemide and imipramine were not significant. Premature termination due to insufficient efficacy was more frequent with placebo than with moclobemide or with imipramine, these differences being significant. The overall assessment of tolerance clearly favoured placebo and moclobemide over imipramine. This was also reflected in the frequency of premature terminations due to poor tolerance, as well as in the frequency of adverse events, which were highest in the imipramine group. The only cardiovascular finding was an increase of the mean heart rate with imipramine, maximum at the end of week 1, while placebo and moclobemide displayed no relevant changes. There were no other important drug-related changes.

Adjustment Disorders↗

Diclofensine and imipramine. A double-blind comparative trial in depressive out-patients.

Sixty out-patients with different nosological types of depression were assigned at random to three different treatment groups and were treated under double-blind conditions for 6 weeks. Two groups received diclofensine in capsules of either 15 or 25 mg, and a third group received capsules with imipramine 25 mg. The dosage schedule provided an initial dose of 2 capsules/day which was to be gradually increased up to a maximum dose of 9 capsules/day. The daily mean dosages actually given over the entire trial period were 64.0 mg diclofensine for group I, 97.6 mg diclofensine for group II, and 102.9 mg imipramine for group III. All treatment groups showed a good improvement of the patients' clinical states within the 6-week period, but the imipramine-treated patients improved more slowly than the diclofensine-treated patients. This was demonstrated by the mean total scores of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). Evaluation of different factors of the HDRS yielded differences between the two drugs in favour of diclofensine for the factor 'inhibition' from the end of week 1 until the end of week 3 and for the factor 'somatic complaints' during week 3. Side effects were - dose dependently - less frequent, less severe, and lasted shorter in the diclofensine-treated patients than in the imipramine-treated ones. The most frequently reported side effects in the diclofensine-treated patients were dry mouth, insomnia, dizziness, and agitation. In the imipramine group side effects were mainly dry mouth, tremor, dizziness, and sleepiness. In conclusion, this study shows an impressively faster onset of efficacy of diclofensine over imipramine, a finding which should be replicated by further studies.

Adult↗