Posted by Mitch on June 3, 2001, at 19:18:03
In reply to Re: Studies: New Celexa+others promising » Mitch, posted by Rick on June 3, 2001, at 15:18:52
After I made the post, I did think something along the lines of "Well, noone has any patent on this anymore, so there isn't any money in it and that is why you havent' heard anything. That is a shame because a lot of older meds have pharmacologically active metabolites that have promise-but they have already ran their course financially. Sad, but true.
> My guess is that business considerations and/or legal technicalities could have quashed any interest in following up on this study. I'm not even sure which pharmaceutical company would have worked on a more benign version of nortryptyline, since both Novartis (Pamelor) and Eli Lilly (Aventyl) make branded versions -- not to mention the long-available generics. Interestingly, Nortryp isn't even referenced on their websites.
>
> The fact that this study came out during a period when SSRI's were mushrooming -- and Lilly had to protect cash cow Prozac -- couldn't have helped. Also, competitors could play up the bad press about tricyclics, even if a refined version lacked the side effects and potential lethal overdose hazards. Etc., etc.
>
> Rick
>
> > > Mitch - can you recall about when the article regarding nortriptyline was published?
> >
> > SLS, It is quite old, but here is the entire
> > abstract,
> >
> > Mitch
> >
> > Neuropsychobiology 1996;34(1):44-8
> >
> > Antidepressant and anxiolytic profiles of E-10-hydroxynortriptyline on electrocorticograms of rats.
> >
> > Nordin C, Krijzer F.
> >
> > Department of Clinical Neuroscience and Family Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Huddinge University Hospital, Sweden.
> >
> > Electrocorticograms of rats were recorded after administration of increasing doses of the major metabolite of nortriptyline (NT), E-10-hydroxynortriptyline (E-10-OH-NT). The results were compared with those of NT administration. In visual as well as computerized evaluations, E-10-OH-NT demonstrated clear antidepressant properties, thus confirming previous experiments in depressed patients. There is some evidence that E-10-OH-NT also has an anxiolytic profile. The results with the parent drug NT were not so pronounced. Since E-10-OH-NT has been shown to be devoid of side effects when previously administered to humans, this substance is clearly to be considered of interest for potential development into a new antidepressant. Whether or not the anxiolytic profile is of clinical interest needs to be investigated further.
> >
> > PMID: 8884759 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
poster:Mitch
thread:64685
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010530/msgs/65281.html