Antidepressants double-blind crossover trial

In contrast to SSRIs, the atypical antidepressant tianeptine has been reported to enhance uptake of serotonin and has been proposed to act by restoring neuroplasticity (Costa e Silva, 2004). A double-blind crossover trial of tianeptine vs. placebo in 12 autistic children reported modest but statistically significant improvements after 6 weeks of treatment with respect to ABC measures of irritability, hyperactivity, inadequate eye contact, and inappropriate speech. The major side effects noted were drowsiness and decreased activity (Niederhofer et al., 2003). Larger studies of this agent in ASD populations would be useful. 

With the anthelmintic tetramisole (124) some mood elevating activity in depressed schizophrenics was observed during a double-blind crossover study [306,307]. The (+)-enantiomer of (124), dexamisole, showed effects in depression in small preliminary clinical trials [308].The(—)-antipode,levamisole,was the active anthelmintic in the racemate [309-311], but of its central activity nothing is mentioned. The [Pg.295]

Because many antidepressant compounds are also effective in panic disorder, we performed a trial of inositol in panic (Benjamin et al. 1995). Twenty-one patients with panic disorder with or without agoraphobia completed a double-blind, random assignment crossover treatment trial of inositol 12 g/ day versus placebo, with 4 weeks in each treatment phase. Frequency of panic attacks and severity of panic disorder and of agoraphobia declined significantly more on inositol than on placebo the effect was comparable to that of imipramine in previous studies. Side effects were minimal. 

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