Antidepressant drugs in dermatology. An update.

Recent studies indicate that antidepressant medications may be effective treatments for dermatologic disorders such as chronic urticaria and angioedema, nocturnal pruritus in atopic eczema, and postherpetic neuralgia, even in the absence of coexisting psychopathologic conditions. Their efficacy may be related to their antihistaminic, anticholinergic, and centrally mediated analgesic effects and appears to be independent of their antidepressant effect. It is likely, therefore, that more dermatologists will be prescribing these drugs without a psychiatric consultation.