Should We Keep Calling Antidepressants Antidepressants?

Letter to the Editor

Sir: In his recent comprehensive review "New Indications for Antidepressants," Schatzberg finely points out the therapeutic efficacy of serotonin reuptake inhibitors, nefazodone, venlafaxine, mirtazapine, and bupropion for a wide range of disorders beyond major depression, such as generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), social phobia, panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, bulimia nervosa, aggressive behavior, and nicotine dependence, not to mention the efficacy of some so-called antidepressant drugs in migraine, chronic pain, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Moreover, a few studies suggest that improvement of certain specific endpoints was independent of changes in depression. So, why keep calling these drugs antidepressants?