Viloxazine: An Assessment of its Potential Rapid Antidepressant Action and Unwanted Effects

Summary

A double-blind comparison of viloxazine andplacebo was carried out in 34 patients with primary depressive illness in order to assess its potential rapid antidepressant effect and more immediately occurring unwanted effects. Equal numbers of patients received either 100 mg viloxazine 3-times daily or placebo for 1 week only. Five patients dropped out of the study because of alleged unwanted effects; all of them were on viloxazine. Following treatment, there were no statistically significant differences between viloxazine and placebo in the global assessments of severity of illness, the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, the Wakefield Self-Assessment Depression Scale, or in the occurrence of unwanted effects. The global assessment of change in condition suggested that the viloxazine group did not progress as well as the placebo group. One patient had a convulsive seizure while receiving viloxazine. Overall, the results suggest that viloxazine, given under the conditions of the trial, does not have the rapid antidepressant effect claimed in previous studies.

Key Words::

• Viloxazine
• antidepressive agents
• depression