Differential Response to Chlorpromazine, Imipramine, and Placebo

Abstract

A MAJOR aim of the present study was to examine the differential effects of chlorpromazine and imipramine among various depression subgroups. Tests were made of differential drug effects among Overall et al's¹three empirically derived depressive subtypes, ie, anxious, hostile, and withdrawn-retarded depressives. These investigators found a tranquilizer, thioridazine, best for their anxious depressives and imipramine best for the withdrawn-retarded depressives. An examination was also made of differential drug effects among psychotic depressives, neurotic depressives, and schizophrenics with depression. As there is a tendency in this country to equate psychotic depression with endogenous depression, study findings may have some relevance for the endogenous-neurotic distinction. Proponents of this distinction have reported that imipramine is especially efficacious for endogenous depression and of little value in neurotic depressions.^2-12 Finally, tests were made of differential drug effects among depressed patients categorized on the basis of sex and age (below 40 and 40 and