Chronobiology and its implications for pharmacotherapy of endogenous depression

An open pilot study on 30 in-patients with endogenous depression showed a clear-cut circadian fluctuation of the therapeutical effect of single doses of lofepramine administered at three different times of the day (8 a.m., and 12 p.m.). A single-dose drug schedule with 210 mg lofepramine at 12 p.m. also proved superior (p less than .05) to the conventional divided-dose drug schedule with 70 mg lofepramine at three times of the day. The chronobiological background and the therapeutical consequences of these findings are discussed.