Clomipramine and age: an interaction study.

The metabolism of an appreciable number of drugs has been shown to be influenced by age. In a study designed to assess plasma levels of clomipramine in twenty-eight patients aged between 65 and 75 years and fourteen patients over 75 years of age and compare them with the levels achieved by a control group of patients aged between 18 and 40 years, the severity of depression was assessed initially and after 7, 14, 21 and 28 days using the General Practitioner Clinical Research Group Scale. Clomipramine was administered in a single dose of 25 mg either in the morning or in the evening. In general there were similar improvements in total score and in individual items on the rating scale in all three groups of patients. More drug related drop-outs occurred in the group of elderly subjects and in extreme age the response to treatment was slower although the end result of treatment was the same as that seen in younger subjects. Some side-effects such as constipation, tremor, ataxia and vertigo were commoner in older subjects.