Safety data on zimelidine hydrochloride following an overdose

Zimelidine, a new antidepressant, has proved to be a potent and selective inhibitor of 5-HT uptake into central 5-HT neurons. Due to its structural differences from the tricyclic antidepressants, it has also been suggested that it may have a different pharmacological profile, and be devoid of anticholinergic and noradrenaline potentiating properties. During the treatment with zimelidine hydrochloride, as a part of an open trial, one of our patients, a 38-year-old chronically depressed woman, overdosed herself with more than 10 times the actual therapeutic dose of zimelidine with no undesirable side effects. Previous studies have indicated that zimelidine in comparison with imipramine and chlorimipramine has no, or at most, a slight effect on peripheral adrenergic neurons, and has less pronounced anticholinergic properties than imipramine. The findings of our overdose case provide some support for these findings.