Dysthymic disorder: treatment with mirtazapine

Dysthymic disorder is a form of chronic depression which often has its onset in childhood or adolescence and is generally persistent throughout life. Although originally hypothesized to be preferentially treated with psychotherapy, recent pharmacological studies support the use of antidepressants to treat patients with dysthymic disorder. Mirtazapine is an antidepressant which has been recently released on the U.S. market. We studied the effects of 15 to 45 mg of mirtazapine in 15 patients with dysthymic disorder on an open label basis over a 10-week period. Four patients discontinued treatment because of sedation. Mirtazapine was effective and well tolerated in the remaining patients.