Posted by SLS on May 13, 2001, at 9:32:14
In reply to Re: Which ADs affect dopamine and norepinephrine?, posted by Elizabeth on May 12, 2001, at 19:36:52
> > Reprint from The SmithKlineBeecham website....
>
> I thought Glaxo Wellcome owned bupropion. Did they sell it to SB? That seems odd.
>
> > Pharmacodynamics: Bupropion is a relatively weak inhibitor of the neuronal uptake of norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine, and does not inhibit monoamine oxidase. While the mechanism of action of bupropion, as with other antidepressants, is unknown, it is presumed that this action is mediated by noradrenergic and/or dopaminergic mechanisms.
>
> In other words, they haven't the slightest idea what its direct effects actually are! ("Relatively weak" means, more precisely, that its affinity for the monoamine transporters does not result in clinically significant reuptake inhibition.)
>
> FWIW, I think bupropion might be a prodrug and that the pharmacologic activity of its metabolites ought to be studied.
>
> -elizabeth
Entire symposia have been dedicated to the mechanisms by which bupropion exerts its therapeutic effects. The drug remains a bit of a mystery.In the past, many researchers had the impression that, whatever are the direct actions of bupropion, they yield an increase in noradrenergic tone.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:19950
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010507/msgs/62728.html