Cipralex vs. Venlafaxine XR

Cipralex (escitalopram) compares favourably to venlafaxine, both in moderate and severely ill depressed patients.

Mean change from baseline in MADRS total score (ref.1)

Mean change from baseline in MADRS total score in severely ill (baseline MADRS 30) patients treated with escitalopram 20 mg/day or venlafaxine XR 225 mg/day.
*significantly different from venlafaxine xr, p<0.05
  • The results of two studies demonstrated that escitalopram is at least as effective and better tolerated than venlafaxine XR. (ref.1)

Patients in sustained remission (%) (ref.2)

(a) Percentage of patients treated with escitalopram and venlafaxine XR 75–150 mg/day in sustained remission during an 8-week period. A larger proportion of escitalopram-treated patients achieved sustained remission at weeks 2–8 (ITT; #p<0.05, ##p<0.01) (logistic regression, including factors for treatment, centre and baseline MADRS score). Sustained remission was defined as a remission (MADRS =>12) that was maintained until week 8.

As % of patients in remission at week 8 (ref.2)

(b) Plot of number of patients in remission from each treatment group as a percentage of the total number of patients in remission at week 8. Escitalopram-treated patients achieving remission at week 8 achieved sustained remission 6.6 days faster (ANCOVA, p<0.001) than venlafaxine xr-treated patients. The dotted lines indicate median time to achieve remission.
ANCOVA, p<0.001
  • More severely ill patients reach sustained remission when treated with Cipralex (escitalopram) 20 mg compared to venlafaxine up to 225mg. The excellent tolerability of Cipralex is an extra benefit when compared to venlafaxine. (ref.2)

References:

1. Montgomery et al., 2006

2. Montgomery et al., 2004

Last updated: 25.07.2006