Comparison of efficacy and tolerability of reboxetine and venlafaxine XR in major depression and major depression with anxiety features: an open label study

Abstract

We may suggest that reboxetine is as effective and tolerable as venlafaxine XR in the treatment of MDD and MDD with anxiety features, and it may be considered a treatment option to venlafaxine XR.

Evidence-based guidelines for treating depressive disorders with antidepressants: A revision of the 2008 British Association for Psychopharmacology guidelines

“…A meta-analysis of 10 RCTS of anxious depression found that response rates were slightly greater following SSRI than bupropion treatment for both depression (65.4% vs. 59.4%; NNT 17) and anxiety (61.5% vs. 54.5%; NNT 14) (Papakostas et al, 2008). Thus, if anxiety does impair outcomes of antidepressant treatment, there are few indications that one type of antidepressant is notably more effective than another, and the NNTs of those differences found are of small clinical relevance in most circumstances (Akkaya et al, 2006; Sir et al, 2005). An exception may be OCD, where an RCT in patients with comorbid depression found sertraline was more effective than desipramine (NNT 7–8) in treating both depressive and OCD symptoms (Hoehn-Saric et al, 2000).…”

The effect of desvenlafaxine 50 mg/day on a subpopulation of anxious/depressed patients: a pooled analysis of seven randomized, placebo‐controlled studies

“…Anxious depression is defined as a primary diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD) with significant symptoms of anxiety Wiethoff et al, 2010). The prevalence of anxious depression was approximately 50% in 2876 patients with MDD enrolled in the sequenced treatment alternatives to relieve depression (STAR*D) project (Fava et al, 2008) and ranged from approximately 40% to 60% of patients in other MDD clinical trial populations (Fava et al, 2000b;Fava et al, 2004;Akkaya et al, 2006;Wiethoff et al, 2010;Seo et al, 2011). Anxious depression is associated with more severe depressive symptoms at baseline compared with nonanxious depression (Fava et al, 2006;Wiethoff et al, 2010) and also with a greater incidence of suicidal ideation and history of suicide attempt, a greater number of previous depressive episodes, and a longer history of illness, after adjusting for severity of depression (Fava et al, 2006;Fava et al, 2008;Wiethoff et al, 2010;Seo et al, 2011).…”

Influence of the tyrosine hydroxylase val81met polymorphism and catechol‐O‐methyltransferase val158met polymorphism on the antidepressant effect of milnacipran

“…For example, Poelinger and Haber (1989) found anxiety ratings decreased more with maprotiline (noradrenaline selective agent) than with fluoxetine (serotonin selective agent). Akkaya et al (2006) reported that response rate for anxiety of reboxetine (noradrenaline selective agent) group was significantly higher than venlafaxine groups in the middle of treatment in patients with anxious depression, though the final response rate for anxiety was not significantly different. These findings and the present results suggest that the noradrenergic system in brain play a role in improvement of anxious symptoms of depression, and its genetic polymorphisms might affect the onset of therapeutic efficacy of milnacipran for anxiety in depression.…”