A Comparative Study of Efficacy and Safety of Agomelatine and Escitalopram in Major Depressive Disorder

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a mental disorder characterized by episodes of depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure, feeling of guilt or low self-esteem, loss of energy, altered sleep patterns and difficulty in concentration. This study was carried out to compare the efficacy and safety of Agomelatine with Escitalopram in the treatment of major depressive disorder. This is a prospective study conducted at Outpatient Department of Psychiatry, GSL Medical College & General hospital, Rajahmundry, India. Patients with newly diagnosed major depressive disorder (DSM-IV-TR) with minimum score of 20 in Hamilton depression rating scale were randomly assigned Agomelatine (25-50 mg/day) or Escitalopram (10-20 mg/day) for a period of 8 weeks. The main efficacy outcome considered was the mean change of HAM-D17 score from baseline to end of therapy. Secondary outcome measures were Clinical Global Impressions-improvement (CGI) and severity (CGI-S) rating scales. Student t-test was used for comparing the groups and chi-square test was used for assessing the qualitative variables. For all statistical analysis p0.05). The mean CGI-S and CGI-I scores were decreased in both the groups (p