Comparative study of Escitalopram and Fluoxetine in the treatment of senile depression

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Escitalopram in the treatment of senile depression.Methods:Sixty-four senile depression patients were randomly assigned to two groups of 32 ones each,research group took orally Escitalopram and control group did Fluoxetine for 6 weeks.Clinical efficacies were assessed with the Hamiltion Depression Scale(TESS) before treatment and at the end of the 2nd,4th and 6th week.Results: After 6 treatment,the HAMD scores of both groups lowered more significantly compared with pretreatment(P0.01);the HAMD score at the end of the 2nd week lowered more significantly in the research than in the control group(P0.05).At the end of the 6th week,effective rates were respectively 81.3% in the research and 78.1%in the control group,which showed no significant difference(X2=2.72,P0.05);adverse reactions of both groups were mild and mainly digestive symptoms such as nausea,vomiting and so on,and there was no difference in incidence between 2 groups(P0.05)Conclusions: Escitalopram has a notable efficacy equivalent to Fluoxetine and higher safety in senile depression,but the former takes effect more rapidly.