[Fluoxetine and depression in the elderly. Clinical experience]

Eighty-six patients aged between 60 and 80 years and affected with major depression according to the diagnostic criteria of the DSM III-R were treated with fluoxetine per os at the single dosage of 20 mg/die. At prearranged intervals psychometric reagents were administered for the evaluation of any variations in the depressive symptomatology. Already at the 1st examination after 14 days' treatment a considerable improvement in the psychopathological picture was observed. This improvement remained constant at the subsequent examinations and the follow-up after 90 days. The tolerability was excellent and the side effect mild, with a tendency to regress after the first days of therapy. The clinical assessment and the psychometric findings both suggest that fluoxetine has a useful action on major depression in the elderly.