Posted by Bill L on February 14, 2001, at 12:46:11
In reply to Re: Targeting cortisol for depression?, posted by Bill L on February 14, 2001, at 7:27:12
After I responded to your post, I saw this post on a different board so here it is:
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No, they lower cortisol levels. One of the things SSRIs do is improve
the cortisol situation in depressives. Im not familiar with all the
technical specifics of how and why they do that, but chronic usage of
SSRIs definitely insulates you to a degree from the harmful effects of
excess cortisol. I am pretty sure that longterm use of SSRIs actually
cuts down on cortisol output in depressives, however I am not 100% sure.
There is a whole new futuristic class of antidepressants in the
research and development stage that works on the cortisol theory of
depression. Called "CRF-Antagonists" they are said to work much faster
than any of the current classes of antidepressants. Instead of taking a
month or more to kick in, CRF-Antagonists are predicted to kick in
within a day or two. We will see whether this really pans out to be
true or whether they will work or not.
CRF-Antagonists are still in beginning to intermediate stages of R&D.
Id say it will be another ten years before these new antidepressants
actually get FDA approved and are at the drugstore...if they ever even
make it that far of course.> I personally have not heard of using a cortisol lowering drug to fight anxiety or depression but that does sound interesting. I have thought of elevated cortisol being an effect of anxiety. But I never thought of it as being a cause.
>
> Do you have very high cortisol levels? If so, have you been checked to rule out medical problems affecting the gland that makes cortisol? I think it's the adrenal gland but I'm not sure.
>
> Do you have anxiety or depression? If so ,what meds have you tried?
>
> > Has anyone on this board specifiaclly worked to lower
> > cortisol levels with drugs like ketaconozole or procaine HCI (soon to be Anti-cort)for depression/anxiety. I've read a lot of studies lately. Results seemed to be mixed and dependent on basil cortisol levels in patients. My own cortisol levels are high and I have been treatment resistent thus far.
> >
> > JasonL
poster:Bill L
thread:53836
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010212/msgs/53981.html