Therapeutic effects of antidepressants in chronic pain.

Depression and chronic pain syndromes are often associated. Over the last twenty years there has been a number of controlled and uncontrolled studies evaluating the efficacy of antidepressants in various pain problems. The administration of antidepressant medications in the management of chronic pain has become a commonly prescribed therapeutic modality in the treatment of this complex syndrome. This paper reviews the clinical studies in which antidepressants have been used to control chronic pain, summarizes the results of the clinical studies, and comments on the mechanism of action of antidepressants in chronic pain.