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Psychopharmacology (Berl). 1992;106 Suppl:S116-7.
A double-blind comparison of moclobemide and amineptine in the treatment of depressed out-patients.
Macher JP, Mirabaud C.
Source
CHS Rouffach, France.
Abstract
A randomized, double-blind, multicentre study was performed to compare the effects of moclobemide and amineptine in the treatment of endogenous depression in out-patients. Ninety patients received moclobemide, 450 mg/day and 94 received amineptine 200 mg/day in two parallel groups, over a trial period of 8 weeks. At the end of 4 weeks doses could be reduced to 300 mg/day, moclobemide and 100 mg/day, amineptine if required. All evaluated patients showed a significant clinical improvement during treatment, but no significant difference occurred between the groups. When patients were asked to assess the benefit of their treatment, 76% thought their condition had improved following moclobemide therapy, compared to 53% of those receiving amineptine. Both drugs were well tolerated, and over 60% of patients reported no side-effects. Moclobemide appeared to be as effective as amineptine in the treatment of these patients, and was significantly better tolerated.Since Amineptine is a tricyclic antidepressant, it can be expected to have significant side effects similar to other tricyclics.
I think the study is flawed in that a fixed and high dose of Amineptine was used. This guarantees the patients on it would experience side effects that would make them subjectively feel they haven’t improved with treatment.
The conclusion however is that both antidepressants were equally effective in treating depression. Meclobemide is not better as an antidepressant than Amineptine.
Meclobemide was more easily tolerated and had fewer side effects.
Interestingly, in other studies, Meclobemide is clearly not as potent an antidepressant as other Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors.
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