Posted by linkadge on September 17, 2006, at 9:48:32
In reply to Re: Nicotine and Depression, posted by SLS on September 16, 2006, at 22:46:48
>Nicotine provides mild anxiolytic, reward, and >euphoriant effects, but it is not a potent >antidepressant.
That may not be true. When you have a substance like nicotine, the assumption is that it can have no theraputic effect because it has some addictive potential. To be honest, it hasn't been studied enough in such applications. As you are well aware, there are many products whoose antidepressant properties have been denounced (ie SJW) probably based on other factors. For instance, a study that prooved nicotine to be an antidepressant could encourage people to continue smoking.
We base the antidepressant effect of the TCA's, SSRI's, MAOI's, valdoxan, remeron etc on their efficacy in the flinders sensitive line, so why reject such a study that identifies nicotine in such a way?
>If it were, we wouldn't see so many depressed >people smoking cigarettes. It would, of course, >be the best kept secret in psychiatry.
Why. Thats like saying that antidperessants don't work, because we see a lot of depressed people taking them. There are plenty of non depressed people who smoke, who can become very depressed when they quit. It is possable that nicotine has been maintaining a state of euthemia in an otherwise depressive individual. Depressed people who smoke could perhaps be much worse without smoking. Its not that its a secret, it just hasn't been directly studied very much.>People who are depressed choose many different >drugs and behaviors to self-medicate. This does >not make these things antidepressants.
This is true, but allong the same lines, it does not mean they are *not* antidepressants.
>Nicotine is not an antidepressant.
Well thats the debate. Clearly, we know that how one agent affects a person is undrelated to how the agent affects another person. The definition of an antidepressant is simply an agent that can provide sustained relief of depressive symptoms.
I personally noticed a sustained improvement in a few symtpoms of depression while I was using a fixed dose of nicotine to counteract SSRI side effects. (3-4 months 4mg/day) The main improvements were reduction of feelings of guilt, sustained reduction in anhedonia, improved concentration, destinct psychosocial imrprovment (I was hanging out with friends again, I've slipped back to hiding in my apartment all day),
significantly reduced physical anxiety, improved
sleep, and improved feelings of worthlessness.
It was destinct to nicotine, I did not have any such AD effects on caffiene, ritaline, dexedrine etc.
Linkadge
poster:linkadge
thread:686441
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060909/msgs/686762.html