Posted by JohnX2 on March 11, 2002, at 3:28:49
In reply to Ritalin is not an antidepressant, posted by Bekka H. on March 10, 2002, at 2:09:21
> I've read that Ritalin (methylphenidate) blocks the reuptake of dopamine while dexedrine causes the release of dopamine. By blocking the reuptake of the neurotransmitter, Ritalin's mechanism of action is similar to antidepressants, so why isn't Ritalin an antidepressant?
Hi Bekka,
Dexedrine (d-amphetamine) is both a dopamine reuptake inhibitor
and a promoter of dopamine release.I don't know about Ritalin. I haven't looked at that pony.
The word "antidepressant" is subjective. I wouldn't
want to get dragged into a debate on that one.If you ran these medicines through an official
clinical trial for depression and collected HAM-D
scores, etc, I don't know how they stack up
against Prozac, etc.-John
poster:JohnX2
thread:97289
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020307/msgs/97433.html