[A controlled study of the prophylactic effect of mianserin and placebo in recurrent depression]

To examine the prophylactic effect of mianserin on depressive episode, 26 patients with recurrent depression were randomly allocated on a double-blind basis to treatment with either inactive placebo (PL group) or mianserin in daily dose of 20-60 mg (MIA group) for 18 months and the frequencies or durations of depressive episode during the treatment were compared between the two groups. Except for the 4 patients who dropped out, a comparison of the prophylactic effects of the two groups was performed on 9 patients of the MIA group and 13 patients of the PL group. As a result, recurrence of depressive episode occurred in 4 of 9 patients in the MIA group and in all 13 patients in the PL group during the study. The recurrence rate of the depressive episode during the period in the MIA group was always less than that in the PL group, and significant differences were observed between the two groups from the third to the 18th month of the study. Whereas the frequency and duration of the depressive episode in the MIA group during the period of the study were significantly less than those prior to the study, there was no such difference in the PL group. On the other hand, there was no significant difference in the safety between the two groups. From the result of this study, it was suggested that mianserin is effective in the prophylaxis of depressive episode in patients with recurrent depression.