The effects of sertraline on psychomotor performance in elderly volunteers

The psychopharmacologic effects of sertraline, a new antidepressant drug, are reviewed. A double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study was conducted, investigating the effects of 9 days' administration of sertraline and mianserin on cognitive and psychomotor performance of elderly volunteers. The two antidepressants were given on a rising dose schedule for the first five days of treatment (sertraline 100 mg Day 1 and 2, 150 mg Days 3 and 4, and 200 mg Day 5; mianserin 10 mg Days 1 and 2, 20 mg Days 3 and 4, and 30 mg Day 5) with the highest dose (mianserin 30 mg and sertraline 200 mg) being intended for the rest of the study. To assess the effect of concomitant alcohol administration, alcohol (0.5 g/kg body weight) was given 6 hours after the last dose of each treatment. There was a severe intolerance to the effects of mianserin in this group of patients even at the lowest dose and, as many subjects were withdrawn, there was no formal analysis because of the missing data. However, the available evidence showed the expected sedative effects on a number of psychometric tests. Single or multiple doses of sertraline did not affect objective measures of performance. The addition of alcohol did not affect these results. The results indicate that sertraline has a neutral psychomotor profile in the elderly and appears to have no additive depressant effects when taken with moderate amounts of alcohol.