The clinical and psychological effects of pemoline in depressed patients--a controlled study.

The clinical and psychological effects of pemoline were compared with placebo in a double-blind study of 20 depressed patients. Target symptoms were disturbances of concentration and memory, tension, depression, fatigue, decreased libido, anorexia and insomnia. The two groups were matched for their clinical picture, age, sex, and duration of illness. During the three-week study period the pemoline group received 50 mg daily. Significant differences in some clinical symptoms were found between the groups, but not in the performance of psychological tests, administered before and after the three-week study period. These differences proved the effectiveness of pemoline in combating symptoms of disturbances in concentration, memory, tension, depression and fatigue.