In a three-week study of 10,000 general practice patients with depressive illness, a single dose of maprotiline 75 mg at night was effective therapy in three-quarters of the patients who completed the study.
At this dose the drug was well tolerated, and troublesome side-effects presented in only a small percentage of patients. Drowsiness was the most commonly reported side-effect, and the main reason for withdrawal of treatment.
The drug was acceptable to most physicians, and in this study was used in a wide range of patients and over a broad spectrum of depressive illness.
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