Mianserin versus amitriptyline for depression: a double-blind 6-week trial

34 patients who met the research diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder as defined by Spitzer et al. [Archs gen. Psychiat. 35: 773-782, 1978] completed a double-blind 6-week trial of mianserin versus amitriptyline following 1 week of single-blind placebo washout. After 2 weeks of dose build-up, patients took 150 mg/day of mianserin or 300 mg/day of amitriptyline throughout the next 4 weeks. At week 6, 63% of mianserin patients and 73% of amitriptyline patients were rated as responders; this difference is not statistically significant. No clinically meaningful differences between drugs were observed with respect to number or severity of side effects as reported by either patient or physician. Overall, mianserin was found to be equivalent to amitriptyline in terms of efficacy, patient tolerance and ease of administration.