[Pharmacological justification for the use of new antidepressant drugs].

This review compares a new generation of antidepressants with standard tricyclic antidepressants. It is now believed that an ideal antidepressant should be characterised by high therapeutic efficacy, good tolerance, safety of use related to low incidence of adverse effects, little potential for interactions and low cost of use. Mirtazapine, nefazodone and venlafaxine have therapeutic efficacy which is comparable with that of tricyclic antidepressants and their lack of (or insignificant) receptor effect as well as double mechanism of action makes them a safer therapeutic option.