Rapid clinical effectiveness of MIF-I in the treatment of major depressive illness.

A double-blind 28 day study was conducted to compare the anti-depressant efficacy of MIF-I with that of imipramine. Twenty patients hospitalized with major depressive illness participated. Clinical responses were measured by using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, the Global Severity of Illness Scale, the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale as well as the 100 mm line self-rating for depression. The results indicate that MIF-I was at least as effective as imipramine in this study, and that its anti-depressive effect was a rapid and often dramatic one.