Posted by Racer on May 14, 2006, at 14:11:48
In reply to Re: Help I am naive: What is SNRI? » linkadge, posted by curtm on May 14, 2006, at 10:39:09
> What does it do compared to an SSRI? (didn't have any luck with those.)
They inhibit the reuptake of norepinephrine, as well as serotonin...
Based on the theory that depression is caused by insufficient amounts of neurotransmitters, they address depression by increasing the amount of the neurotransmitter in the synaptic space by inhibiting it's reuptake.
That's the nutshell version, and there are a lot of other questions about it. Some thinking says it isn't the amount of the substance available synaptically, but the balance of all the neurotransmitters in relation to one another. And who knows what's right?
What is known, though, is that some people just don't do well on SSRIs, so trying SNRIs makes sense. And many people who don't do well on SSRIs do very well on SNRIs. Others do better on TCAs, or MAOIs, or CBT, for that matter.
Hope that helps.
poster:Racer
thread:643724
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060510/msgs/643920.html