Few differences between three top antidepressants

Three of the most commonly prescribed antidepressants are similarin effectiveness for depressive symptoms, research indicates.

The antidepressants, paroxetine (sold under the brand name Paxil),fluoxetine (sold under the brand name Prozac and also available ingeneric form) and sertaline (sold under the brand name Zoloft), alsowere shown to be similar in their effect on health-related quality oflife measures, including social interactions, ability to work, sexualfunctioning and sleep.

The study, by the Indiana University School of Medicine andRegenstreif Institue for Healthcare, is the first to compare theeffectiveness of paroxetine, fluoxetine and sertaline. The threeantidepressants are all members of a class of drugs known asselective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and work onneurotrasmitter pathways in the brain to decrease symptoms ofdepression.

The study is published in today's issue of the Journal of theAmerican Medical Association. It was funded by Eli Lilly & Co., themanufacturer of Prozac. AScribe