Posted by Scott L. Schofield on February 9, 2000, at 17:32:42
In reply to Re: How Do Prozac & Serzone Work Different?, posted by Cindy W on February 9, 2000, at 9:23:44
> Alice, John, Scott, and Cam...I took Serzone and it helped me a lot with social anxiety and depression but not OCD. Now I'm on Effexor-XR and a tiny amount of Serzone at night and feel a lot better in terms of OCD too. I can't understand why Serzone doesn't help with OCD though. Wish I understood better how and why SSRI's and similar drugs affect depression and OCD.--Cindy W
Hi Cindy.> I can't understand why Serzone doesn't help with OCD though.
I think I mentioned in an earlier post that Serzone (nefazodone) does not block the reuptake of serotonin (5-HT) to the same degree as do the SSRIs or Effexor (venlafaxine). One study I found used blood platelets "in vivo" (inside the live subject) to determine how potent Serzone was as a reuptake inhibitor. The results indicated that it was weak at best. I guess it is possible that this is the reason why Serzone is less effective for treating your OCD symptoms. Or, perhaps it is the ability of Serzone to block 5-HT2 receptors that somehow antagonizes or prevents any anti-OCD effects that would otherwise be exerted by the increased levels of serotonin created by reuptake inhibition.
> Wish I understood better how and why SSRI's and similar drugs affect depression and OCD.
I think it is safe to say that you are not alone in this.
It can be very confusing and disconcerting to read contradictory statements made in the medical literature as the quest for knowledge and understanding progresses. For instance, most of the more recent stuff I found regarding Serzone states that it also inhibits the reuptake of norepinephrine (NE) to the same degree as it does serotonin.
Who'd a thunk it?
- Scott
poster:Scott L. Schofield
thread:20849
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000209/msgs/20922.html