Clinical control study of citalopram and amitriptyline in the treatment of senile depression

Objective To compare the efficacy and security of citalopram and amitriptyline in the treatment of senile depression.Methods 40 patients with senile depression were divided into two groups which were received citalopram or amitriptyline for 6 weeks respectively. And the curative effect and side reaction were evaluated with Hanmilton depressive scale (HAMD) and treatment emergent symptom scale(TESS) respectively before and after the treatment in 2nd,4th,6th weekend.Results The scores of HAMD decreased more markedly after the treatment than those before the treatment in two groups (P0.05); The scores of HAMD of the citalopram group decreased more markedly than those of the amitriptyline group after the treatment in 2nd weekend (P0.05),But there were no significant differences after the treatment in 4th, 6th weekend. The side reaction was less and slighter in citalopram group than that in amitriptyline group.Conclusion Citalopram has a similar efficacy with amitriptyline in the treatment of the patients with senile depression, but the former arises faster, the security is higher, and the side reaction is slighter.