Posted by SLS on July 24, 2003, at 7:02:48
In reply to Re: need advice on transient response to meds » SLS, posted by pianolady on July 24, 2003, at 3:31:41
> I read that you have worked at NIH
I didn't work there. I was a research patient at the NIMH.
> and are dealing with atypical depression
The symptomology of my case resembles atypical unipolar depression, but because of drug-induced mania, I have been treated as being bipolar.
> What is your opinion about Abilify potentially being a new class of antipsychotics because of its action on the different dopamine receptors?
Some have placed on Abilify the moniker "DSS", an acronym meaning dopamine system stabilizer. Others prefer to simply call it a partial dopamine agonist. The first might be overstatement, the second is perhaps inaccurate. Abilify acts like a full and somewhat selective antagonist at dopamine presynaptic autoreceptors at low concentrations. Postsynaptically, it acts like a partial agonist, supposedly acting as an agonist when dopamine levels are low and like an antagonist when there is an overabundance of dopamine. Of the atypical neuroleptics that I have tried (Abilify, Geodon, Risperdal, Seroquel, Zyprexa), Abilify has provided me with the most potent antidepressant effect. In some respects, I guess Abilify might act as if one were combining low dosages of either amisulpride or sulpiride with either pramipexole or ropinerole. Geodon and Abilify share a property that the other atypicals do not. They are agonists of the 5-HT1a autoreceptor. This might contribute to their antidepressant properties. 5-HT1a agonism is thought to be responsible for the antidepressant actions of buspirone and gepirone.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:243709
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030723/msgs/244792.html