Posted by PaulB on June 15, 2001, at 12:16:57
In reply to HOW DOES FLUANXOL WORK FOR DEPRESSION/ANXIETY?, posted by SHRINK on June 15, 2001, at 3:18:23
> Hi all :-)
>
> I can find a lot of research on the web indicating that Fluanxol (flupenthixol) at low doses (1mg-3mg daily) is as good as most TCA's and SSRI's for the treatment of depression with/without anxiety. Its tolerability also seems better than 'normal' antidepressants (whatever those might be). The one thing that puzzles me is that nobody seems to be offering any information on its *mechanism of action* at these low doses. In higher doses, it's used as an antipsychotic but seems to be antidepressant/anxiolytic at low doses. The same is true for sulpiride (Dogmatil) but - again - no good explanations as to what the drug does differently at low doses to make it a good antidepressant. Does anybody out there able to shed some light on this for me?
>
> Thanks.I think thats an interesting question because your right-Flupenthixol is used as an antidepressant but its 'antidepressant' mechanism isnt common knowledge.
It would be good to find out because I had a book about antidepressants with sections on TCA's, MAOI's and SSRI's for depression and then a separate section for treatment refractory depressives. This included five drugs-Venlafaxine, Edronax, Remeron, Tryptophan and Flupenthixol. I cant say Ive seen much post here about it before. You might try a search at dr-bobs old posts overwise.
poster:PaulB
thread:66539
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010612/msgs/66560.html