Posted by SLS on June 20, 2008, at 17:25:12
In reply to Re: Tianeptine: Possible Mechanism of Action, posted by dapper on June 20, 2008, at 16:20:33
> I need to go to med school to understand this post better...
No you don't. I never did. :-)
Synapse: The structure through which the neuronal signal is passed along from one neuron to the next.
1. Synaptic cleft: the gap between the sending and receiving neurons through which the neurotransmitter signal traverses.
2. Presynaptic: sending neuronal membrane
3. Postsysnaptic: receiving neuronal membrane
4. Receptors: binding sites located on neuronal membranes that the neurotransmitter molecules perform either an excitatory or an inhibitory function.Tianeptine causes the presynaptic neuron to reuptake (suck up) more neurotransmitter from the synaptic cleft than what is normal. The rate of neurotransmitter reuptake is accelerated or enhanced. In this case, the neurotransmitter is serotonin (5-HT). With less 5-HT in the cleft, the number of receptors along the postsynaptic membranes increases to compensate. More receptors on the postsynaptic membrane means higher sensitivity to the action of 5-HT release by the presynaptic neuron. Not only is there greater sensitivity, there is also more 5-HT stored and released by the presynaptic neuron, as tianeptine has caused it to accumulate at a greater rate.
The net effect of tianeptine might be that it amplifies a true neuronal signal and at the same time reduces background noise to produce greater fidelity.
There is a lot that I haven't gone into here. There is even more that I don't have a clue to. To incorporate all of the known properties of tianeptine and produce a theory as to the etiology of depression and why tianeptine is therapeutically efficacious would require a lot of research. I'll leave that to the true geniuses, though.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:835062
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080617/msgs/835688.html