Posted by Scott L. Schofield on April 22, 2000, at 11:14:49
In reply to Re: COMT-inhibitors for depression - anyone?, posted by Brandon on April 20, 2000, at 17:35:12
I really don't know to what degree COMT-inhibitors have been looked at for treating affective-disorders or other mental illnesses. Perhaps they have been tried without success in enough studies to dissuade further investigation. Perhaps there are not enough eligible compounds to test.
Tolcapone (Tasmar) has been withdrawn voluntarily by the drug company (Hoffmann-LaRoche Laboratories) in several countries for its liability to cause liver damage. It has been approved in the US, and is still available. I do not know what the current status of entacapone (Comtan) is. I imagine that it is on its way to approval as an adjunct to l-dopa therapy in Parkinson's Disease.
From the few things I've seen that are relevant to depression, COMT-inhibitor monotherapy does not seem to be too promising. It is too early to say if COMT-inhibitors will have a place in psychiatry.
- Scott
poster:Scott L. Schofield
thread:30742
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000420/msgs/30959.html