Is escitalopram efficacious in the long-term treatment of depression?

Chronic (long-term) illness is normally considered to be of more than 3 months duration. A study by Colonna demonstrates that escitalopram 10 mg gives a sustained reduction in MADRS scores over a 24-week period in the subset of patients with mild-to-moderate depression. The mean change from baseline in MADRS total score showed that escitalopram was numerically better than citalopram at all timepoints, and demonstrated a statistically significantly superior therapeutic effect at many visits, including week 8 and week 24. These results may be indicative of improved efficacy of escitalopram compared to citalopram, both in the short and in the long term (ref.1). Continuation of treatment with escitalopram significantly reduces the risk of relapse and provides further improvement in reducing depressive symptoms. Escitalopram 10-20 mg has also shown to be effective in preventing relapse by significantly reducing the risk of relapse (ref.2).

References:

1. Colonna L et al. 2005

2. Rapaport et al. 2004