Posted by Ritch on November 15, 2002, at 9:31:43
In reply to Re: prozac/effexor=dendrite shrinkage?, posted by djmmm on November 15, 2002, at 7:51:24
> well, it actually states..."Fluoxetine, sibutramine and sertraline treatment resulted in no depletion of brain serotonin BUT produced morphological abnormalities in the serotonergic immunoreactive nerve network. In contrast, dexfenfluramine and MDMA depleted brain serotonin and produced morphological changes in the serotonin nerve network. These results indicate that even though fluoxetine, sibutramine and sertraline do not deplete brain serotonin, they do produce morphological changes in several brain regions (as identified by serotonin immunohistochemistry)."
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> FWIW, almost 95% of the aminals used for medical study are rodents. We use rodents because their physiology and genetic make-up is similar to humans. It is believed that the genome of a rodent contains essentially the same complement of genes found in the human genome... If you choose to deny, or brush off results of a scientifc study, based on the fact that rodents are used, thats your choice. I think you will find that the original testing of the majority of medication you take, began on rodents.
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Hi, is this the smae thing as "dendritic 'pruning'"? I remember reading about this a couple of years ago. The speculation was that depressed and suicidal people have excessive serotonin receptors and an "overgrowth" of dendrites as a result. THe author's conclusion was that SSRI's raise the level of extracellular serotonin which reduces the density of serotonin receptors (down-regulation), and "prunes" the overgrown dendrites. Perhaps there is some overpruning going on? Would that be dose related?
poster:Ritch
thread:127552
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021108/msgs/127744.html