In this entry we'll take a cursory glance at two of the older drugs in the antidepressant category, clomipramine and imipramine.
Clomipramine
Clomipramine (also known by the brand name Anafranil) is used in the treatment of people who have been diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). It is believed to work by increasing the amount of serotonin in the brain that is required to achieve some mental balance.
In some cases, this drug will be prescribed by a doctor to treat conditions other than OCD in what is known as off-label use.
It is an anti-depressant medication, but it is not in the class of drugs known as SSRIs. Rather, clomipramine is in an older class of drugs known as tricyclic antidepressants. Clomipramine was first approved by the US Food and Drug Administration back in 1989. It is available as an inexpensive generic drug that works with the same efficacy as Anafranil.
To read more about clomipramine, including common side effects and other warnings, please visit the Medline Plus page for this drug.
Imipramine
Imipramine (also known by the brand name Tofranil) is used in the treatment of people diagnosed with depression. Additionally, it is also sometimes used in some children as a means to reduce bedwetting. Like clomipramine, this drug may be prescribed by a doctor to treat conditions other than depression or bedwetting in what is known as off-label use.
Also like clomipramine, imipramine is not an SSRI it is a tricyclic antidepressant. However, this drug is substantially older than clomipramine. Imipramine was first approved for the US market all the way back in 1959. In fact, this drug was the very first tricyclic antidepressant ever to be developed.
As such, imipramine is not very widely used anymore, and in many ways it was supplanted by the second generation tricyclic clomipramine, as well as other later tricyclics such as desipramine and amitriptyline.
To see a list of common side effects and to learn more about this workhouse of a drug, visit this drug's Medline Plus page.
