Evidence-Based Treatment Paradigms for Depressed Patients With Pain and Physical Symptoms

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The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry
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Some antidepressants may be efficacious in alleviating pain. While few studies have directly compared antidepressants for the treatment of painful physical symptoms, meta-analyses of efficacy studies have found that antidepressants that act at serotonergic and noradrenergic neurotransmitters, such as some tricyclics and serotonin- norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), may alleviate pain independently of their effects on mood. These dual-action agents have more consistently shown efficacy for pain than single-action agents.