Posted by JYS on December 10, 2007, at 1:31:35
In reply to Re: Methadone for Depression?, posted by Sigismund on October 19, 2007, at 3:00:44
It goes without saying that opiates are addictive and if you're taking them you will become dependent. For some of us, myself included, that is the price we pay, for it's theraputic value often outweighs this. That said, opiates have been known to successfully curb and even eliminate depression. But because it causes dependancy it's rarely prescribed for depression, but in cases when opiates are already prescribed for pain relief or drug addiction positive results have been observed. Plese see the study and results posted below as one example:
There has been much interest in recent years in the possible role of endogenous opioid peptides (endorphins) in depression (1). The high concentrates of opioid receptors and endorphins in limbic and hypothalamic regions, and their interaction with noradrenergic and dopaminergic systems, suggests involvement of endorphin systems in depression, as do certain clinical observations. These include anecdotal reports from the prepsychotropic era of the efficacy of opiates in depression, the appearance in some detoxified opiate addicts of depression responsive to opiates and antidepressants (2), and reports of improvement in some depressed patients following beta-endorphin (3). These observations, as well as the euphoric, analgesic, and calming effect of opiates, suggest that decreased functional activity in endorphin systems may be involved in the pathophysiology of depression.The rest of this report is available at:
http://opioids.com/antidepressant/index.html
poster:JYS
thread:105910
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20071204/msgs/799852.html