Cross-over trial comparing the antidepressant effects of amineptine and maprotiline

A double-blind controlled, cross-over trial was carried out in 70 depressed patients to compare the effectiveness and tolerability of amineptine with that of maprotiline. Patients were allocated at random to receive treatment with either 150 mg amineptine or 75 mg maprotiline daily for 6 weeks before being treated for a further 6 weeks with the alternative drug. Comparison of the response to treatment at the end of each period showed that amineptine was significantly better than maprotiline, and this was particularly marked in the 46 patients with exogenous depression where an effect was usually evident within 3 to 5 days. Only 6 patients in this group failed to show a response to amineptine compared with 19 to maprotiline. Both drugs appeared to be equally effective overall in patients with endogenous depression, although when amineptine was given as the second treatment there was an improvement in retardation. Few side-effects were reported during either treatment period.