Posted by TSA West on March 17, 2002, at 11:20:58
In reply to help - need deep sleep, posted by Michael D on March 17, 2002, at 7:16:59
"Previous studies with healthy volunteers and patients with depression have consistently shown that single and repeated doses of mirtazapine 15 or 30 mg reduce sleep latency and prolong its duration. Different pharmacologic mechanisms are probably responsible for the two effects. Mirtazapine strongly blocks histaminergic transmission, and selective H1 antagonists readily induce sleep. However, they do not prolong total sleep time. Mirtazapine also blocks 5-HT2A/C receptors. Unlike antihistamines, Mirtazapine's effects on sleep are extremely resistant to tolerance. This dual mechanism of hypnotic activity adequately accounts for mirtazapine's effects on sleep in this study. With the patients' Alertness ratings showing the development of tolerance to the antihistamine effect, we believe that the persistence of mirtazapine's sleep-enhancing activity was primarily due to the 5-HT2A/C blockade."
--J of Clin Psychopharm, Oct 2000
poster:TSA West
thread:98414
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020313/msgs/98439.html