Cymbalta: less impact on sex than Lexapro

US pharmaceutical major Eli Lilly says that new data presented at the American Psychiatric Association's annual meeting suggest that male patients with major depressive disorder treated with Cymbalta (duloxetine) had significantly better sexual functioning when compared to those taking H Lundbeck's selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor Lexapro (escitalopram) within the first eight weeks of treatment.

At the end of the acute period of the sexual functioning assessment, 37% of male patients on Cymbalta reported a worsening in sexual function versus 59% for those on Lexapro and 49% with a sugar pill, as measured by the Changes in Sexual Functioning Questionnaire.

The head-to-head study in more than 680 patients also found that 36% of female patients treated with Cymbalta reported a worsening of sexual functioning vs 38% on Lexapro and 26% on a sugar pill. Lilly noted that, at eight weeks, categorical changes in CSFQ differed significantly for men treated with Cymbalta or Lexapro, although these were not observed between the two drugs in women.