[Central analgesic effects of antidepressant drugs with various mechanisms of action: desipramine, fluvoxamine and moclobemide].

Analgesic properties of antidepressants are not yet well established. The aim of this study was to investigate the analgesic effect of three antidepressants after single oral dose administration to healthy volunteers. The late spinal R-III reflex threshold (objective pain threshold) and the subjective pain threshold (numerical categorical scale) were markers of analgesic effect. Desipramine induced significant increases in both thresholds. Fluvoxamine and moclobemide also exerted a significant analgesic effect, although displaying distinct patterns depending on the analgesic marker considered. Antidepressants exert a central analgesic effect independent of their antidepressive effect and, depending on their mode of action, already detectable at spinal level.