Posted by SLS on May 23, 2016, at 9:18:35
In reply to Re: Dopamine antagonism » linkadge, posted by J Kelly on May 21, 2016, at 17:35:12
Hi, Jade.
> Just so I'm clear, a dopamine antagonist (like Zyprexa) means less dopamine available, correct?
A direct antagonist binds to a receptor and blocks it. It is not a reuptake inhibitor. In general, anything that binds to a receptor is called a ligand. Ligands are divided into categories, based upon their action at the receptor. Agonists stimulate, while antagonists and inverse agonists inhibit.
As weird as this sounds, there is actually more dopamine available when using neuroleptic antipsychotics. This occurs because the drug binds to pre-synaptic receptors along with post-synaptic receptors. (Abilify might be an exception). The antagonism of the pre-synaptic receptors convinces the neuron to manufacture and release more dopamine. Although more dopamine is available, the antipsychotic prevents the post-synaptic neuron from "seeing" it because the receptors are blocked by the antagonist.
- Scott
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poster:SLS
thread:1089116
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20160501/msgs/1089162.html