Archives for Pharmacology
Amphetamines
Posted By Kelly On Tuesday, May 10th 2011 under: Pharmacology Tags: depression-symptoms, lusert
History's first true antidepressants were the amphetamines. As stimulants, they appear to have an elective effect on low mood (but make anxiety worse). So they are not just general sedatives, like barbiturates, in the basin of nonmelancholic mood disorders, but act on nonmelancholic depression in particular. This is generally recognized among psychopharmacology insiders today. In 1996 Jules Angst, director of psychiatric research at University of Zurich, told psychiatrist David Healy, ... Read More
Barbiturates
Posted By Kelly On Tuesday, May 10th 2011 under: Pharmacology
In the late nineteenth century, a slew of new treatments started to become available thanks mainly to the magic of the German chemical industry. In 1857, the salts of bromine — for "hysteria" and epilepsy — hit the market. In 1869 the psychiatric uses of chloral hydrate, a minor sedative, were discovered. In 1882 paraldehyde, a major sedative for asylum patients, was introduced into medicine. All were key sedatives of ... Read More
The Earliest Effective Drugs
Posted By Kelly On Tuesday, May 10th 2011 under: Pharmacology
In terms of medication, there have always been drugs to soothe the mind and tame the agitated spirit. Alkaloids, widely found in nature, especially in plants in the Solanaceae family, have always served as sedatives. Belladonna, or deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna), contains anticholinergic alkaloids such as atropine, hyoscyamine, and scopolamine that act against the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. The pure alkaloid hyoscyamine was isolated in 1871 "from the inert mass of resin, ... Read More
Some Griefs Are Medicinable
Posted By Kelly On Tuesday, May 10th 2011 under: Pharmacology
What does a world without psychopharmacology look like?
In 1913, Mr. X, a 25-year-old employee of the London branch of a Swiss bank, came to see Dr. Frederick Parkes-Weber, an internist with an office on chic Harley Street, in London's West End. Parkes-Weber consulted to the elite, and his practice consisted heavily of well-to-do people with complaints that were often nervous rather than organic. "Nothing special in past history," wrote Parkes-Weber ... Read More
How are 5-HT2 selective antagonists different from current drug therapy in schizophrenia?
Posted By Kelly On Friday, December 11th 2009 under: Pharmacology Tags: Antidepressants, Drugs, Risperdal, Serotonin, Zyprexa
There a two major classes of agents currently used to treat schizophrenia - the older neuroleptics (typical antipsychotics) and the newer atypical antipsychotics such as clozapine, olanzapine (Zyprexa) and risperidone (Risperdal). The first class of agents is comprised of predominantly dopamine-2 (D2) receptor antagonists, with haloperidol being the prototype. These neuroleptics have little, if any, direct effects on serotonin systems; e.g., haloperidol does not interact appreciably with serotonin-2 (5-HT2) receptors. ... Read More
What is the role of serotonin in psychotic disorders?
Posted By Kelly On Thursday, December 10th 2009 under: Pharmacology Tags: Prozac, Psychiatric Illnesses, Serotonin
The precise role of serotonin (5-HT) in psychotic disorders is not fully understood. However, a variety of preclinical and clinical data suggest that 5-HT is closely connected with both psychotic symptoms and the mechanism of newer atypical antipsychotic agents. The serotonin-2A receptor (5-HT2A) in particular seems to play a pivotal role. For example, certain psychotomimetic substances, such as psilocybin, appear to act as agonists at the 5-HT2A receptor. Conversely, 5-HT2A ... Read More