Posted by CaptainAmerica1967 on December 24, 2008, at 2:42:18
I know some people with treatment resistant depression have gotten some benefits with Androgel according to studies (I tried it several years ago, but didn't notice anything), but this study compares Proviron to amitriptyline.
Remember, those taking MAOI's are more likely to suffer from reduced testosterone via MAOI's impact upon the liver metabolism/prolactin. However, Parnate in theory should be less likely to decrease testosterone or increase prolactin as it's more dopaminergic than Nardil.
J Clin Psychiatry. 1985 Jan;46(1):6-8.Links
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3880735
A comparison of the antidepressant effects of a synthetic androgen (mesterolone) and amitriptyline in depressed men.
Vogel W, Klaiber EL, Broverman DM.The antidepressant effects of amitriptyline and mesterolone, a synthetic androgen, were compared in a double-blind parallel treatment design. The drugs were equally effective in reducing depressive symptoms. Mesterolone produced significantly fewer adverse side effects than amitriptyline.
PMID: 3880735 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Also from Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MesteroloneMesterolone is an orally applicable androgen, and DHT derivative. It is sold under the brand name Proviron, by Schering. In the late 70's and early 80's it was used with some success in controlled studies of men suffering from various forms of depression.
In one randomized, double-blind 4-week trial, 38 dysthymic men were administered 75mg daily. Itil & Colleagues reported an improvement of symptoms which included anxiety, lack of drive and desire. Next, they administered a high dose (450mg/day) or placebo in a 6-week randomized trial of 52 men with a mean age of 40 years, suffering from dysthymia, unipolar and bipolar depression. Both the mesterolone and placebo groups improved significantly and there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups. In this series of studies mesterolone lead to a significant decrease in LH and testosterone levels. This is probably as a result of the extremely high dose used. In another, 100mg mesterolone cipionate was administered twice monthly. With regards to plasma T levels, there was no difference between the treated vs untreated group, and baseline LH levels were minimally affected.[1]
Mesterolone is a relatively weak androgen and rarely used for replacement therapies.[2]
poster:CaptainAmerica1967
thread:870597
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