Researchers evaluate SSRIs against older antidepressants, each other.

Medscape (5/14, Anderson) reported that, according to a meta-analysis published Apr. 15 in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, “sertraline, one of the oldest selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), is superior to a number of other antidepressants in terms of efficacy and tolerability.” For the study, researchers from Italy’s University of Verona “searched several medical databases, including MEDLINE and EMBASE,” and “included 59 randomized controlled trials allocating a total of 10,000 patients with major depression to sertraline or another antidepressant agent.” The investigators found that “sertraline proved more effective than fluoxetine and more acceptable or tolerable than amitriptyline, imipramine, paroxetine…and mirtazapine.” Notably, the team “uncovered some differences favoring newer antidepressants in terms of efficacy (mirtazapine) and acceptability (bupropion).” In a “second literature review, researchers searched medical databases for randomized controlled trials comparing escitalopram against any other antidepressant,” and found that “escitalopram was significantly more effective than citalopram…in achieving acute response and remission.”

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