Posted by psychopharmacon on March 22, 2006, at 1:39:20
In reply to What's the deal with antipsychotics for depression, posted by jerrympls on March 21, 2006, at 23:03:33
I think antipsychotics could, to some extent, be useful to treat depression (at least if you don't mind weight gain.)
I'm no expert, so someone please correct me if I'm wrong here. Many antipsychotics are 5-ht2a and 5-ht2c antagonists, and blocking these serotonin receptor will lead to higher neurotransmission to dopamine receptors. Atypical antipsychotics also have less dopamine blocking properties than typical APs. So if you take low enough doses of atypicals, you will mostly experience 5-ht2 antagonism. The atypical APs sulpiride and amisulpride are different though. They don't have any 5-ht2 antagonist properties, but they are unique in that they at low doses block the presynaptic dopamine D2/D3 autoreceptors, which leads to an increase in dopaminergic transmission.
Also, APs are believed to counteract many of the side effects of SSRIs. Several people report better results with the combination of Prozac and Zyprexa or Seroquel, than with Prozac alone.
It's a real shame though, that there are not any dopaminergic antidepressants availible.
poster:psychopharmacon
thread:623192
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060315/msgs/623237.html