BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) are widely used as analgesics in chronic lumbar pain and neuropathic pain. The objective of this study was to evaluate the electrocardiographic changes in patients with chronic pain treated with amitriptyline or imipramine. METHODS Forty patients, ages 26 to 81 years (57.27 +/- 13.65 years) of both genders (female 19, male 21), with n...

BACKGROUND Interactions between the sympathetic and somatic nervous system play an essential role in the pathophysiologic mechanisms of neuropathic pain. The α2-adrenoceptor agonists produce effective antinociception, but sedation is an important adverse effect. Multidrug therapy is potentially valuable to decrease side effects. OBJECTIVE The aim of the present study was to investigate the po...

BACKGROUND The cyclobenzaprine structure is similar to amitriptyline; however, tricyclic antidepressant (TCA)-like wide complex dysrhythmia has not been reported. Our objective was to determine the incidence of TCA-like effects in cyclobenzaprine overdoses as reported to 6 poison centers for 2 years. We compared the incidence of these effects to amitriptyline overdoses collected during the same...

Hypotension is a frequent side effect of the antidepressant treatment. It is controversial whether this effect is attributable to interactions within the central nervous or the cardiovascular system. We examined often used antidepressants for their vasoactive properties in vitro in rat aortal rings with and without endothelium. The influence of pre-incubation with the antidepressants (0.5 μM) o...

Increasing evidence links chronically elevated glucocorticoid levels and cognitive impairments in a subpopulation of aged rodents and humans. Antidepressant drugs improve hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis feedback regulation and reduce plasma glucocorticoid levels. Decreasing the cumulative lifetime exposure to glucocorticoid excess by long-term exposure to antidepressants may prevent the eme...

Antidepressants, prescribed as first line treatment of neuropathic pain, have a limited efficacy and poorly tolerated side effects. Because recent studies pointed out the implication of astroglial connexins (Cx) in both neuropathic pain and antidepressive treatment, we investigated whether their blockade by mefloquine could modulate the action of the tricyclic antidepressant amitriptyline. Usin...

The present study tested a hypothesis that excess accumulation of sphingolipid, ceramide, its metabolites, or a combination contributes to the development of obesity and associated kidney damage. Liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis demonstrated that C57BL/6J mice on the high-fat diet (HFD) had significantly increased plasma total ceramide levels compared with animals fed a low-fat ...

OBJECTIVE To identify, from the Mexican Public Health System perspective, which would be the most cost-effective treatment for patients with Fibromyalgia (FM). MATERIAL AND METHODS A Markov model including three health states, divided by pain intensity (absence or presence of mild, moderate or severe pain) and considering three-month cycles; costs and effectiveness were estimated for amitript...

Tricyclic antidepressants treat chronic pain both in patients with somatic illness and with functional bowel disorders. We compared the effects of amitriptyline on perception of cutaneous and gastrointestinal stimulation to assess differential analgesic effects of tricyclics on somatic and visceral pain. Cutaneous electrical stimulation and rectal and esophageal distension were performed before...