Might nefazodone be effective when a person has not responded to other antidepressants?
Although there is no data on this, it is expected that some individuals who have failed to be helped by other antidepressants will be helped by nefazodone. • What are the advantages of nefazodone? The low incidence of sexual side-effects and disturbed sleep are possible advantages of nefazodone. • Has nefazodone been available in other countries? What do psychopharmacologists from those countries think of the drug? Nefazodone has been available in Canada for over six months. Most of the psychopharmacologists to whom I have spoken think that it is less effective than the SSRIs, and some have stopped writing prescriptions for it. Most of the nefazodone being prescribed in Canada is prescribed by nonpsychiatric physicians, not by psychiatrists. • What did the Medical Letter conclude about nefazodone? The Medical Letter [1995, 37 (946), 33-35] concluded its review of nefazodone with the words: “Available data are inadequate to determine how nefazodone compares with other antidepressants. B
