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John C. Ballin, PhD

JAMA. 1975;231(13):1369.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

Since the introduction of imipramine hydrochloride (Tofranil) in 1959, the tricyclic compounds have played an increasingly important role in the treatment of depressed patients. Today, six compounds of this therapeutic class are marketed and one of them, amitriptyline (Elavil) hydrochloride, ranks 29th in order of prescription frequency in the United States.¹ The most recent National Disease and Therapeutic Index audit indicates that, in a one-year period, American physicians wrote more than 18 million prescriptions for tricyclic compounds and more than 6 million prescriptions for these drugs combined with other agents.¹

The tricyclic antidepressants have largely replaced the psychomotor stimulants (amphetamines and methylphenidate) in the treatment of depression; they are generally more effective than the monoamine oxidase inhibitors in moderate and severe depression, especially the endogenous types.² Recent evidence indicates that imipramine and perhaps other tricyclic compounds are also useful in the management of childhood enuresis. It is . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
Director AMA Department of Drugs

Footnotes
Address editorial communications to the Editor, 535 N Dearborn St, Chicago 60610

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