Posted by chemist on May 4, 2004, at 13:53:53
In reply to To Chemist, how does this med work?, posted by krybrahaha on May 4, 2004, at 4:00:26
> I have noticed you know alot about medications. My question is how does Neurontin work in the brain? I wonder this because this is the only med out of many that have worked for my anxiety.
>
> I have tried every med under the sun for anxiety and have settled on Neurontin. This med has been a godsend for me, when others have not. I have taken all the SSRI's, and alot of the benzo's with mild success.hi there....i have read jlb121's post and he/she is on the right track....i would include that upon binding of neurontin to the calcium channels, a decrease in glutamate and aspartate as well as less activity in AMPA receptors results; and that there is evidence that antagonism of glutamic acid dedecarboxylase (which leads to increased production of GABA) is possible with neurontion. the anxiolytic effect is from a build-up of GABA in your brain, and this excess of GABA is what we want for anxiety. the benzodiazepines increase GABA concentrations because these drugs bind directly to the A-type GABA receptors, which leads to a conformational change (and a flux of chloride) and thus prevents reuptake of GABA. in any event, whether you take neurontin or a benzodiazepine or another drug with anxiolytic properties, the mechanism by which GABAnergic transmission (provided the drug is reducing anxiety by producing excess GABA, a qualifier there) is increased may be different, but the end result is what we're after. i will note that to date, only 2 controlled trials for the use of neurontin in bipolar disorder have been published, and both trials indicate that neurontin is not superior to placebo for mood-stabilization. there are at least 2 controlled trials that demonstrate that neurontin is a good drug for treating of social phobia/anxiety disorder as well as panic attacks. finally, neurontin inhibits the firing of voltage-dependent sodium channels and has been shown to increase blood serum concentrations of serotonin.....hope this helps in addition to the other post, all the best, chemist
poster:chemist
thread:343099
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040429/msgs/343258.html