Non-randomised trial, 1989
Can an antidepressant called nortriptyline help with depression that happens before a period?
In this very small early study, most women who took nortriptyline felt a lot better, but this was not a strong or well-controlled test, so it cannot prove the drug works.
What they did
Researchers gave the antidepressant nortriptyline to 11 women who met strict criteria for severe premenstrual depression (late luteal phase dysphoric disorder). This was an open pilot study, meaning everyone knew they were getting the real drug, with no placebo comparison group in this part. The women had already tried a placebo or another medicine without improving.
What they found
8 out of 11 women had a good response to nortriptyline.
What it means for you
The result looked promising, but with only 11 women and no blinding or placebo comparison, the authors said it needed confirmation with proper double-blind studies before anyone could trust it. This is a very old (1989) and very small study, so it should not guide treatment decisions on its own.
8 of 11
Women who responded well
11
Total participants
About the study
- Original title
- Treatment of premenstrual depression with nortriptyline: a pilot study
- Authors
- Harrison WM, Endicott J, Nee J
- Journal
- The Journal of clinical psychiatry
- Year
- 1989
- Study design
- Non-randomised trial
- Participants
- 11
- What was tested
- Nortriptyline (an older type of antidepressant)
- Read the paper
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2647713/
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