Combination Antidepressant Treatment Outperforms Monotherapy in Meta-Analysis!
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In clinical management of depression, combining a reuptake inhibitor with presynaptic alpha2-autoreceptors significantly improves treatment outcomes, compared with monotherapy, a meta-analysis found. Clinicians should consider this approach as a viable first-line treatment for severe depression and for non-responders, a team of German researchers concluded. Combining antidepressants is often the next step if a patient with acute depression fails to respond to a monotherapy. In a previous meta-analysis, first author Jonathan Henssler, MD, and colleagues reported on the merits of combining monoamine reuptake inhibitors (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor [SNRI], or tricyclic antidepressant) and antagonists of presynaptic alpha2-autoreceptors (mianserin, mirtazapine, trazodone).
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@chandi The hope is these results will help clinicians choose more promising combinations, such as presynaptic alpha2-autoreceptor antagonists with SSRIs or SNRIs, as opposed to combinations that are less helpful or haven't gone through an RCT. The findings on tolerability may also encourage some clinicians to consider these combinations, especially if they've favored less evidence-based approaches such as switching drugs or increasing the dose.