Safety and tolerability of combined treatment with moclobemide and SSRIs

Abstract

Fifty major depressed patients, resistant to multiple pharmacotherapies, were treated by the addition of moclobemide (up to 600 mg/day) to paroxetine or fluoxetine (20 mg/day) for 6 weeks in an open study to assess tolerability. There were 188 adverse events: insomnia, dizziness, headache, nausea, dry mouth and myoclonic jerks were the most common. Many events were rated as severe. The high rate of adverse events suggest that there are clinically significant pharmacodynamic interactions between moclobemide and SSRIs. However the uncontrolled data on effectiveness is encouraging and the combination deserves further consideration as a strategy for treating intractable depression.