Posted by Michael Bell on March 1, 2009, at 12:13:46
In reply to Dopamine raises + NE reuptake = worsing SAD ??? » Michael Bell, posted by Vincent_QC on March 1, 2009, at 11:46:16
Nardil is effective, yes, but consider what nardil does: it raises serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine and GABA. The current belief is that that the reason why it is more effective than other MAOIs for most people with social phobia is because it is a GABA transanimase inhibitor in addition to an MAO inhibitor. Deprenyl, an MAO inhibitor, is not anywhere near as effective for social phobia, because all it does is increase dopamine and PEA. In fact Deprenyl often exacerbates social anxiety. Furthermore, increasing norepinephrine by way of MAO inhibition is not the same as blocking its reuptake. The drugs that block reuptake of norepinephrine (as opposed to raising it by way of MAO inhibition) tend to get very poor reviews for social phobia.
Regarding Oxytocin, the most effective drugs for social phobia, even moreso than Nardil or Klonopin, are GHB and MDMA, because they are prosocial, not merely anti-anxiety meds. They actually stimulate Oxytocin release. People with social phobia actually have abnormally high oxytocin levels, so it is believed that merely raising oxytocin levels won't help, but that there is a breakdown in the release factor and the binding to oxytocin receptors that is the problem as far as that neuropeptide is concerned.
But you are right, new discoveries are being made every day, so maybe ten years down the road they will not even be looking at neurotransmitters for anxiety and depression problems. Could be a problem with alleles, or with inflammation, etc. Who knows?
poster:Michael Bell
thread:883142
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090223/msgs/883204.html