Paroxetine in major depression: a double-blind trial with imipramine and placebo.

Paroxetine is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor which is being developed as an antidepressant. Previous studies suggest it is effective in the treatment of depression and has a low incidence of side effects. The authors report on a 6-week, randomized, prospective trial of paroxetine, imipramine, and placebo in 120 outpatients with major depression. The results showed that paroxetine was significantly superior to placebo in relieving depression. There were no significant differences in antidepressant efficacy between paroxetine and imipramine. However, paroxetine was also significantly superior to placebo on several measures of anxiety. Imipramine either was not superior on these measures or took longer to show a significant difference. Paroxetine lacked the typical anticholinergic side effects that accompanied imipramine therapy. The results show that paroxetine is an effective antidepressant that may have value especially when depression is accompanied by significant anxiety.