Posted by Elizabeth on June 4, 2001, at 23:03:30
In reply to Re: tryptophan depletion challenge » Elizabeth, posted by SLS on June 4, 2001, at 21:03:55
> Is it your belief that 5-HTP is less likely to produce a benefit than is tryptophan?
I'm not sure. There're reasons to believe either. Overall I think you'd probably be better off with an SSRI or MAOI, though, if you have severe depression. Precursors have been found to be good augmentors.
> I don't know how often either of these substances, when used alone, act well as antidepressants. However, when I was growing up ;-), 5-HTP was considered to be the more potent of the two as an adjunct to antidepressants and as a biological probe to assess serotonergic function and HPA reactivity.
"Back in my day..." :-)
> There was generally more concern regarding the precipitation of serotonin syndrome with the use of 5-HTP than there was with tryptophan. In reviewing the literature, I was able to find some studies that demonstrate that the use of a peripheral decarboxylase inhibitor significantly enhances some of the effects of 5-HTP. I don't know about tryptophan.
Yeah, that's a problem that comes into play with both 5-HT and 5-HTP: peripheral metabolism.
> van Praag was a smart son-of-a-gun.
Agreed. He practised what is sometimes known as "pharmacological dissection," which has been a fruitful and underutilised form of psychiatric research.
> Oh, check this out. The Discovery Channel is having a show about body-dysmorphic disorder. It looks interesting.
How was it?
-elizabeth
poster:Elizabeth
thread:59082
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010530/msgs/65428.html