Posted by Neal on January 6, 2001, at 20:06:42
In reply to Re: Cam...what say you., posted by Cam W. on January 5, 2001, at 7:07:51
Cam- re your comment: "• Then you start adding in the hormone axis and the 50 to 100 other neurotransmitters (neuromodulators, neuropeptides, transcription factors, secondary messengers, receptor subtypes, etc, etc). All of these systems (and some that have not be elucidated, yet) must be taken as a whole to see the entire picture. A reductionist view, whereby you look at one or two neurotransmitters &/or receptors (eg serotonin, norepinephrine reuptake) tells you very little of what is actually happening. This is what the drug companies peddle, though; I believe for simplicity sake (and lack of full scientific knowledge)."
I've read so many tantalizing comments in the popular press re depression; "on the brink of a breakthrough" here, "strong possibility", "may be the key to", etc., etc., but nothing ever seems to come of it. As you said, all we ever seem to get officially is the SSRI/TCA/MAO axis -year after year. I've read that some of the biotech companies have things in the works, but of course just blurbs in the press. Yes, the mechanisms are not simple, FDA requires years of testing, costing millions, but to be, say in one's 40's, watching the best part of your life go by while reading this stuff is frustrating, to say then least. Maybe the next big breakthrough will be, like so many in the past, be found by accident.
poster:Neal
thread:50902
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20001231/msgs/51058.html