Comparison of venlafaxine and imipramine in the acute treatment of major depression in outpatients.

Venlafaxine is a new phenylethylamine antidepressant that exhibits monoamine reuptake inhibition. The current study evaluates the efficacy of venlafaxine compared to that of imipramine in outpatients suffering from major depression of moderate-to-marked severity.We conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled, 6-week treatment study of 224 outpatients who met DSM-III-R criteria for major depression, and who had a score of at least 20 on the...