Effects of protriptyline and perphenazine in neurotic depressed outpatients.

A four-week comparison of protriptyline 10 mg three times a day and perphenazine 2 mg three times a day, alone and in combination, and a placebo in a group of nonpsychotic depressed outpatients showed no significant differences among any of the treatment groups after both two and four weeks, and a slight trend in favor of the placebo group. A significant positive correlation was observed between changes in hostility and changes in depression, contrary to many commonly held assumptions regarding the relationship between hostility and depression.