Biological Treatment
The mainstay of depression treatment in the elderly is
antidepressant medication. Because of their better tolerability
profiles, the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
and other newer antidepressants like bupropion are preferred
to older tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) (Table 3). Although
there are several double-blind studies that compare individual
TCAs to individual SSRIs, finding both equally efficacious,
the majority of these do not have a placebo-control group.