Posted by JohnX2 on March 14, 2002, at 22:41:40
In reply to Is Serzone an SSRI? If not what is it?! Thanks, posted by Janelle on March 14, 2002, at 17:22:50
> Thanks for any info on what Serzone is (or isn't!)
Hi Janelle,
Serzone has many actions. It is very atypical.
Serzone is a mild serotonin reuptake inhibitor.
Also, it blocks, i.e. gets in the way of serotonin activating, a particular serotonin receptor (5ht-2a) that people think is linked to anxiety and depression. A lot of the other anti-depressants, SSRIs, overtime will try to "downregulte" or desensitize (reduce the number of these types of receptors) to give an anti-depressant effect. This trick in Serzone is just a quicker way to achieve the effect. It also helps to avoid some side effects. Most atypical anti-psychotics like Zyprexa also do the same thing (block this receptor).
Serzone also blocks the reuptake of noradrenaline (norepinephrine). Norepinephrine is a stimulating chemical in general.
It mildly blocks a particular norepinephrine receptor as a side effect (the alpha-1), which may lead to a bit of fatigue for some people.
For many people the norepinpherine reuptake inhibiting property offsets this, so no side effect.-John
poster:JohnX2
thread:98014
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020313/msgs/98064.html