Posted by RedSoxFan79 on May 15, 2005, at 19:13:09
I have been taking namenda for a little while now. In case you havent heard of it it is a med that is approved for Alzheimers. Its also under Phase III trials for Depression and my doc also tells me its in trials for ADHD. I havent felt anything much until recently I got up to 50 mg/day.I have taken loads of meds and combos and most of them have similar effects on me. Namenda def feels different than anything else. It is an nmda antagonist that selectively blocks the GLU-gated Ca(2+) ion channels. Im not trying to say this med is life changing but Im encouraged by the results.
It has definitely lessened my response to stress. For example, my panic symptoms have been significantly reduced. I stay alot calmer now when before certain things would get me all wound up. I also have a nice mellow feeling, feel content and less neurotic. But havent noticed any of this till i got up to 50 mg. I did have some side effects of feeling kind of spaced out and light headed but those went away.
Im still having a positive response after 2 weeks, this is my longest sustained response ever, usually I have poop out. I was taking lamictal and geodon before this but decided it was time for a change. Im getting samples right now, and the amount in the sample packs in not much so my doc is giving me alot. Not sure what Ill do when samples run out cuz med is really expensive and not sure if insurance will cover.
Supposedly namenda can help to prevent other meda from pooping out and increase response. Here are a couple articels.
Synergistic effect of uncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonists and antidepressant drugs in the forced swimming test in rats.
Rogoz Z, Skuza G, Maj J, Danysz W.
Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, PL 31-343 Krakow, Poland. rogoz@if-pan.krakow.pl
In spite of intensive research, the problem of treating antidepressant-resistant depressive patients has not yet been solved. The authors previously reported that combined administration of imipramine and the uncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist amantadine reduced immobility time in the forced swimming test in rats to a much greater extent than either treatment alone. The present paper investigates the possibility of synergistic interactions between three antidepressants (imipramine, venlafaxine, fluoxetine) with three uncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonists (amantadine, memantine and neramexane). Most combinations resulted in synergistic (hyperadditive) antidepressive-like effects in the forced swim test. Most interesting was the observation that fluoxetine, which was inactive when given alone, showed a positive effect when combined with amantadine (10 and 20 mg/kg), memantine (2.5 and 5 mg/kg) or neramexane (2.5 and 5 mg/kg). The specificity of these observations is supported by control open field studies, which demonstrated no significant increase, or even a decrease in general locomotion after coadministration of the compounds. The present results suggest that the combination of traditional antidepressant drugs and NMDA receptor antagonists may produce enhanced antidepressive effects, and this is of particular relevance for antidepressant-resistant patients
The effect of NMDA antagonists on footshock-induced fighting behavior in chronically stressed rats.
Ossowska G, Klenk-Majewska B, Szymczyk G.
Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Medical Academy, Lublin, Poland.
In the present study we investigated the effect of two non-competitive antagonists of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) subtype of glutamate receptor: memantine (2.5 mg/kg) or MK-801 (0.1 mg/kg) on electric footshock-induced fighting behavior in normal (unstressed) and chronically (14 various stressors over 16 days) stressed rats. In rats submitted to chronic stress the number of fighting attacks was reduced by about 60%. Prolonged treatment with memantine or MK-801 counteracted the deficit of aggression induced by chronic stress (the same effect was observed after a single dose of MK-801 but not of memantine). The findings of our study demonstrate, that the non-competitive NMDA antagonists can reduce the behavioral deficits produced by chronic stress, the effect of which is similar to those of antidepressant drugs.
Here is one more
Antidepressants for the new millennium
by
Skolnick P
Neuroscience Discovery, Eli Lilly,
Lilly Corporate Center, Indianapolis, IN 46285, USA.
skolnick_phil@lilly.com
Eur J Pharmacol 1999 Jun 30; 375(1-3):31-40ABSTRACT
Despite a remarkable structural diversity, most conventional antidepressants may be viewed as 'monoamine based', increasing the synaptic availability of serotonin, norepinephrine, and/or dopamine. Both preclinical and recent clinical studies indicate that compounds which reduce transmission at N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors are antidepressant. Moreover, chronic administration of antidepressants to mice alters both the mRNA levels encoding N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subunits and radioligand binding to these receptors within circumscribed areas of the central nervous system. It is hypothesized that these two different treatment strategies converge to produce an identical functional endpoint: a region-specific dampening of NMDA receptor function. The pathways leading to this convergence provide a rudimentary framework for discovering novel antidepressants.
poster:RedSoxFan79
thread:498201
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050510/msgs/498201.html