TOLERANCE AND SIDE-EFFECTS OF PAROXETINE IN ELDERLY DEPRESSED-PATIENTS

Paroxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepres sant, is considered to have fewer side-effects than a typical tricycli c antidepressant. As the elderly frequently suffer from adverse effect s of psychotropic drugs, safeties and tolerance of paroxetine and thei r relationship with dose were studied in a double-blind study. Sixteen non-hospitalised depressed patients, aged 72-86 years, were recruited but 12 patients completed the study. Patients were randomly selected to receive either 15 mg or 30 mg paroxetine daily for 42 days in a dou ble-blind study. A trained nurse made weekly home visits to monitor th eir medication and general conditions. Patients were assessed at the h ospital on days 1, 7, 14, 28. and 42. There were four drop-outs during the first week of study due to lack of motivation, skin rash and uppe r gastrointestinal symptoms (n = 2). Plasma levels of paroxetine showe d a dose-related increase in concentrations and indicated a good compl iance. At the dosages used, no changes in blood pressure, heart rate, salivary volume, visual choice reaction time, critical flicker fusion threshold and short-term memory were observed in these patients. Howev er, there was a significant improvement in their subjective symptoms ( as assessed by a symptom check list and Hamilton Rating Scale) in the 30 mg group, indicating a feeling of well-being. Copyright (C) 1997 El sevier Science Ireland Ltd.