Clomipramine/bentazepam combination in the treatment of major depressive disorders

Eighty-three patients were recruited in a multicentre study concerning the usefulness of benzodiazepines (BZ) in major depressive disorders, diagnosed according to the DSM-III-R criteria. After 1 week wash-out, patients were randomized to clomipramine (CLMP) or CLMP plus bentazepam (BTZ) treatments (47 and 36 patients respectively). It was necessary to add hypnotics, usually a BZ, in 11 patients in the CLMP group and in one patient in the CLMP + BTZ group. The clinical improvement was faster in the group treated with CLMP + BTZ and, at the end of 6 weeks of treatment, the mean score in Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAS) was lower than the one found in the group treated with CLMP. There were no significant differences found in Hamilton Depression Scale (HDS) between the groups. The side-effects observed were those due to CLMP, and only drowsiness was more frequent in the CLMP+BTZ group. However, the CLMP+BTZ combination was equally or better tolerated by patients than by those treated with CLMP alone. Similar results were found in hospitalized as well as in outpatients. The tricyclic antidepressant (TCA)/BZ association showed better results than TCA alone, producing a symptomatic improvement extensive to the anxious components of depression.