Tricyclic antidepressants approved to treat depression

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, also called FDA, approved several tricyclic antidepressants to treat depression. Examples include:

• Amitriptyline.
• Desipramine (Norpramin).
• Doxepin.
• Imipramine.
• Nortriptyline (Pamelor).
• Protriptyline.

Sometimes tricyclic antidepressants are used to treat conditions other than depression. For example, the FDA approved clomipramine (Anafranil) to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder and imipramine to treat childhood bed-wetting. Some tricyclic antidepressants also are used to treat anxiety disorders and nerve-related pain called neuropathic pain and to prevent migraines.

Tricyclic antidepressants are a type of cyclic antidepressant. This type also includes tetracyclic antidepressants. Cyclic antidepressants are grouped depending on the number of rings in their chemical structure — three (tri) or four (tetra). In the United States, currently the FDA does not approve any tetracycline antidepressant to treat depression.