Discontinuation symptoms

• There is evidence that antidepressants, even of the same class, differ markedly in their discontiunation profile.
• Discontinuation symptoms with Cipralex versus venlafaxine xr were investigated in comparative depression studies and in SAD and GAD studies versus paroxetine.  The DESS scale (Discontinuation Emergent Signs and Symptoms) was used to check for symptoms before, and at 1 and 2 weeks after treatment discontinuation. Whilst only modest and transient increases in the DESS score were observed for Cipralex, the increase in DESS score was significantly higher for venlafaxine XR and paroxetine.
• The discontinuation symptoms returned towards baseline values after 2 weeks.

Mean DESS score (ref.5) # Significantly different from paroxetine, p<0.05 ### Significantly different from paroxetine, p<0.001

References:

1. Baldwin et al. Int. J Neuropharmacol 2007; 10: 73 - 84