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The present paper reports in parallel the findings of the two phase III trials that evaluated the efficacy of agomelatine in older depressed patients. It describes how the particular methodological innovations (particularly in relation to patient selection, design and accuracy of diagnosis of depression) introduced in study 2 have improved the quality of recruitment of patients and the assay sensitivity. Study 1 lacked assay sensitivity, and among the many differences with study 2, the inclusion of unexpected mildly ill patients could have inflated the placebo response. The increased demands on investigators in study 2 appear to have reduced the placebo effect and showed a robust benefit of agomelatine. The two agomelatine studies offer the opportunity to discuss hypotheses that have been raised to explain the low level of response of older patients to available antidepressants.

Original publication

DOI

10.1097/yic.0000000000000174

Type

Journal article

Journal

International clinical psychopharmacology

Publication Date

07/2017

Volume

32

Pages

184 - 194

Addresses

aDepartment of Psychiatry and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Warneford Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford bRadbourne Unit, Royal Derby Hospital, Derby, UK cService de Psychiatrie Generale, Lille Cedex dParis Diderot University, Paris eInstitut de Recherches Internationales Servier (IRIS), Suresnes Cedex, France fUniversity of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.