Paroxetine for Primary Insomnia: Possible Placebo Effect?

Letter to the Editor

Sir: Primary insomnia is widely prevalent, resulting in considerable distress and impairment. A new drug that is not a controlled substance, is nonhabituating, and that does not leave the patient sedated during the day would be a welcome addition to the pharmacopoeia. I read with interest the article by Nowell et al., which reported an uncontrolled, open study of the treatment of primary insomnia with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressant paroxetine in 14 patients.