Paroxetine in the treatment of depression: a comparison with imipramine and placebo

Paroxetine is a selective serotonin uptake inhibitor, which is being investigated as an antidepressant. In this double-blind, six-week study 120 outpatients with DSM-III major depression were randomly assigned to treatment with paroxetine, imipramine, or placebo. Results showed a statistically significant superiority of paroxetine over placebo on almost all outcome measures. Paroxetine was significantly superior to imipramine on the HAMD total score and was generally better tolerated than imipramine. The results support paroxetine's effectiveness in the treatment of major depression and suggest that further studies with this compound are warranted.