Control study of domestically made Mirtazapine and Amitriptyline in the treatment of senile depression

Objective:To explore the efficacy and adverse reaction of domestically made Mirtazapine and Amitriptyline in the treatment of senile depression.Methods:Totally 70 senile patients with depression were randomly divided into two groups and were treated with Mirtazapine and Amitriptyline respectively for 8 weeks.The efficacy and adverse reaction were assessed with Hamilton depression scale(HAMD) and treatment emergent symptom scale(TESS).Results:Efficacy analysis was conducted for 37 patients treated with Mirtazapine and 33 patients treated with Amitriptyline.The HAMD scores were significantly lowered in Mirtazapine group after treating for 2 weeks and in Amitriptyline group after treating for 4 weeks(P0.01).At the end of the 8 th week after the treatment,the total effective rates in Mirtazapine group and Amitriptyline group were 77.3% and 73.5%,without statistical difference between the two groups(P 0.05).Howerver,the adverse reaction was fewer in Mirtazapine group than in Amitriptyline group(P0.01).Conclusions:The domestically made Amitriptyline and Mirtazapine are effective in the treatment of senile depression,however,Mirtazapine has the advantages of fewer adverse reaction and quicker onset.