Antidepressant efficacy of venlafaxine

Venlafaxine is a unique antidepressant medication with well documented effi cacy and safety in the acute treatment of major depressive disorder. Report s suggest that it may also be effective in the treatment of dysthymic disor der and bipolar II depression, but the available data for these conditions are more limited compared to major depressive disorder. Several studies sug gest that there may be a more rapid onset of action for venlafaxine in the treatment of major depression compared to other antidepressant pharmacother apies, but this has not been fully established. Venlafaxine is also effecti ve in the important long term continuation and maintenance phases of the tr eatment of depression. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.