title: Venlafaxine in the treatment of dysthymia: an open-label study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Numerous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of antidepressant medications in the treatment of dysthymia, or chronic mild depression. Venlafaxine blocks reuptake of both serotonin and norepinephrine and may produce a more complete antidepressant response than do single-mechanism selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. The purpose of this open-label study was to provide preliminary data on the tolerability and effectiveness of venlafaxine for patients with dysthymia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-two dysthymic subjects (DSM-III-R criteria) were enrolled in this 10-week, open-label trial, and 5 dropped out prior to their second visit. Seventeen subjects (77.3%) received more than 1 week of medication.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of these 17 subjects, 13 (76.5%) were treatment responders. Results of paired sample t tests were highly significant, indicating that, on average, there was significant improvement on all measures of symptomatology and functioning, with mean +/- SD scores on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression decreasing from 20.95 +/- 6.50 at baseline to 6.06 +/- 5.49 at week 10. The mean +/- SD final dose was 178.68 +/- 70.80 mg/day. Side effects were reported by 17 (85%) of the 20 subjects for whom tolerability was assessed (the most common were fatigue, dry mouth, and nausea); 5 (22.7%) of 22 patients discontinued treatment because of side effects, primarily nausea (N = 3).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest the benefit of venlafaxine in the treatment of chronic depression and the need for more rigorous studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, NY, USA. DHellerstein@BethIsraelNY.org
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Hellerstein
authors.forename: S T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Batchelder
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Little
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Fedak
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kreditor
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rosenthal
mesh_terms: D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003511:Cyclohexanols / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D019263:Dysthymic Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D005221:Fatigue / Q000139:chemically induced; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009325:Nausea / Q000139:chemically induced; D010352:Patient Dropouts; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D000069470:Venlafaxine Hydrochloride; D014987:Xerostomia / Q000139:chemically induced
chemical_list: D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation; D003511:Cyclohexanols; D000069470:Venlafaxine Hydrochloride