Effects of reboxetine on Hamilton Depression Rating Scale factors from randomized, placebo-controlled trials in major depression.
Level 1 - systematic review of randomized trials
Pooled analysis of four randomized placebo-controlled trials
PubMed 11890185 · doi:10.1097/00004850-200203000-00001
What was done
Data were pooled from four short-term (4-8 weeks), randomized, placebo-controlled trials evaluating reboxetine for major depressive disorder. Changes from baseline to study endpoint were evaluated across four Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) factors: psychomotor retardation, anxiety, cognitive disturbance, and insomnia. The pooled cohort compared reboxetine (n = 350) to placebo (n = 353).
What was found
Compared to placebo, reboxetine significantly improved psychomotor retardation in all four trials. Cognitive disturbance and anxiety were significantly improved in three of four trials, and insomnia was improved in one trial with a positive trend in a second trial. The abstract provides no numerical data, effect sizes, or exact p-values.
Why it matters
This analysis clarifies specific symptom domains addressed by reboxetine, showing consistent efficacy for psychomotor retardation and moderate benefits for cognitive disturbance and anxiety in major depressive disorder.
Limits
The abstract reports no numerical values, confidence intervals, or p-values. Trials were short-term (4-8 weeks), symptom factor analyses may be post hoc, and tolerability or adverse event data were not reported.
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