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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Hamish McAllister-WilliamsORCiD
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Objective Agomelatine (Valdoxan(R)) is licensed by the European Medicines Agency for the treatment of major depressive episodes in adults. The objective of this review was to consider how the drug should be used in clinical practice in particular starting, stopping and switching to and from the drug. Methods The existing clinical evidence was reviewed. Results Data suggest that when switching to agomelatine from other antidepressants consideration should be given to tapering the previous antidepressant in order to minimize the risk of the original drug causing discontinuation/withdrawal symptoms. The risk of pharmacological interactions between most antidepressants and agomelatine is low and so tapering the previous antidepressant can usually be done after agomelatine has been started. An exception is fluvoxamine which should not be concurrently prescribed with agomelatine. As agomelatine appears to cause no significant discontinuation symptoms, it can probably be stopped abruptly when treatment is completed or when switching to another antidepressant. Conclusions While this guidance may change as clinical evidence and experience grows, currently agomelatine appears to have a good tolerability profile and is relatively easy to use, though prescribers should note the requirement to conduct liver function tests (LFTs) in accordance with the Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC). Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Author(s): McAllister-Williams RH, Baldwin DS, Haddad PM, Bazire S
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental
Year: 2010
Volume: 25
Issue: 2
Pages: 95-102
Print publication date: 01/03/2010
ISSN (print): 0885-6222
ISSN (electronic): 1099-1077
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hup.1094
DOI: 10.1002/hup.1094
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