Evaluation of the safety and efficacy of bupropion in depression.

A placebo-controlled double-blind study was conducted to test the antidepressant effects of bupropion at dosage levels of 300 or 450 mg/day. Subjects were 30 hospitalized primary major depressives who were treated for 4 weeks. Physical and behavioral measures were obtained at baseline and at the end of each experimental week. The combined results of the two bupropion groups were significantly better than placebo. Preliminary results showed a significant antidepressant effect of the 300 mg/day dose, but not the 450 mg/day dose, compared to placebo. Anxiety symptoms were also somewhat reduced by the 300 mg/day dose. The results are compared with those of a previous study, which utilized higher dosages.