A comparison of adinazolam and desipramine in the treatment of major depression

Abstract

Thirty-one patients with a DSM-III (R) diagnosis of Major Depression received adinazolam (n = 16) or desipramine (n = 15) during a 6 week double-blind randomized controlled trial. Both groups showed a significant decline in Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression scores (21.8 +/- 4.5 to 10.7 +/- 8.5 for adinazolam and 23.5 +/- 5.5 to 12.9 +/- 8.6) for desipramine. Melancholic and anxiety symptoms were reduced equally by both drugs. Initial sedation was the most common side-effect with adinazolam. Plasma levels of desipramine and hydroxy-desipramine correlated highly with oral dose after 3 weeks of treatment.