comparing the efficacy of 8 weeks treatment of cipram® and its generic citalopram in patients with mixed anxiety-depressive disorder

Background: patients with mixed anxiety-depressive disorder (madd) suffer both anxiety and depression. antidepressants, especially, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are among agents of choice for treating this condition. objectives: this study compared the efficacy of cipram® with its generic, citalopram. patients and methods: forty adult outpatients (between 18 to 55 years of age) with a diagnosis of madd who met the trial criteria, entered this double-blind, randomized study. subjects were assigned to receive either generic citalopram or cipram® for 8 weeks. hamilton rating scale for depression (ham-d) and hamilton rating scale for anxiety (ham-a) were utilized to assess depression and anxiety at baseline, weeks 4 and 8 of the study. statistical analysis was performed using spss 14.0. results: twenty patients received citalopram (mean dosages of 22 mg/day during the first 4 weeks and 33 mg/day during weeks 4 to 8) and 20 received cipram® (mean dosages of 22 mg/day during the first 4 weeks and 29 mg/day during weeks 4 to 8). both treatments were noted to be effective in improving the symptoms of madd at weeks 4 and 8. the mean differences of ham-d and ham-a between citalopram and cipram® groups were significantly different at the end of week 4 (ham-d: p = 0.038, ham-a: p = 0.025), but not at the end of week 8 (ham-d: p = 0.239, ham-a: p = 0.204). both medications were tolerated well by the patients. conclusions: this study suggests that the efficacy of citalopram is similar to that of cipram® in the treatment of madd after 8 weeks. meanwhile, cipram® may reduce depression and anxiety quicker than its generic, citalopram.