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The Evidence for 20 mg a day of Fluoxetine as the Optimal Dose in the Treatment of Depression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 August 2018

A. C. Altamura ,
S. A. Montgomery  and
J. F. Wernicke
A. C. Altamura*
Affiliation:
Università degli Studi di Milano, Cattedra di Clinica Psichiatrica, Ospedale Maggiore, Milan, Italy
S. A. Montgomery
Affiliation:
St Mary's Hospital Medical School, London
J. F. Wernicke
Affiliation:
Eli Lilly and Company, Lilly Corporate Center, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
*
∗Correspondence
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Extract

Fluoxetine, a selective serotonin-uptake inhibitor, has been shown to be effective in the treatment of depression. A series of studies found fluoxetine to be more effective than placebo and to be associated with equivalent efficacy to standard reference tricyclic antidepressants (Stark & Hardison, 1985; Feighner & Cohn, 1985).

The selection of a dosage regime for fluoxetine in these studies was based on the information gathered from open dose-ranging investigations. In these studies, treatment starts with one dose level, which is then increased as indicated in the protocol or until increased doses are not tolerated due to side-effects. One of the weaknesses in this method of choosing the likely standard dose of a new antidepressant lies in the inherent bias towards the selection of the higher dose levels. This is particularly true for drugs which are well tolerated.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 153 , Issue S3: Progress in Antidepressant Therapy , September 1988 , pp. 109 - 112
Copyright
Copyright © 1988 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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