Nomifensine in geriatric inpatients: a placebo-controlled study.

In a double-blind randomized group design, nomifensine (100 mg single daily dose) was compared to placebo in 100 geriatric inpatients (average age = 75 years). Patients in each group were categorized as depressed (Feighner criteria for primary depressive disorder and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores greater than or equal to 18) or non-depressed (no psychopathologic disorders and HDRS scores less than or equal to 7). Outcome measures included the HDRS and various tests of cognitive function. The nomifensine-treated depressed patients showed significant improvement over the placebo depressed patients early in and throughout treatment. Depressed patients also showed significant improvement on several cognitive tests with nomifensine treatment. Nomifensine was well tolerated in both depressed and nondepressed patients.