BACKGROUND Bulimia Nervosa (BN) represents an important public health problem and is related to serious morbidity and even mortality. This review attempted to systematically evaluate the use of antidepressant medications compared with placebo for the treatment of bulimia nervosa. OBJECTIVES The primary objective of this review was to determine whether using antidepressant medications was clin...

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to establish the relative safety and balance of risks for antidepressant treatment in older people. The study objectives were to (1) determine relative and absolute risks of predefined adverse events in older people with depression, comparing classes of antidepressant drugs [tricyclic and related antidepressants (TCAs), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor...

"All antidepressants have a 60-70% response rate". "Nobody has ever proved that one antidepressant is better than another". How far are these statements true? Does this mean that antidepressants are interchangeable? All marketable drugs are categorized as belonging to a particular class depending upon specific biochemical or pharmacological properties. Grouping together drugs in this fashion ha...

The Hippocratic humoral theory is upheld in modern neuropharmacologic investigations showing depressive relapse with catecholamine-depleting agents. Serotonin dysregulation is supported, especially in females, in reduced 5-HT2A receptors in PET studies. Furthermore, the ancient concept of temperament and its role in depression is supported by current psychometric research. Despite increasing cl...

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common kind of dementia. This neurodegenerative disease is characterized by the drastic reduction of the neurotransmitters (NTs) acetylcholine (ACh), serotonin and dopamine in the synapses. The use of the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors (AChEIs) is the main strategy used in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease [1]. During the molecular recognition of ...

The high prevalence and the socio-functional impairment associated with depressive disorders, added to the limitations of currently available treatments, justify the search for novel pharmacological strategies for the management of depression. This chapter presents the major results of animal and human studies conducted by a group of Brazilian researchers concerning the antidepressant potential...

Well into the 1970s, we psychiatrists believed that depression came from anger turned inward-and we acted on this notion. Psychiatrists spent countless hours trying to get depressed patients to talk about their anger. Enterprising psychologists and psychiatrists devised schemes to make such patients angry. As a medical student, I watched from behind a one-way mirror as a hospitalized depressed ...

Well into the 1970s, we psychiatrists believed that depression came from anger turned inward-and we acted on this notion. Psychiatrists spent countless hours trying to get depressed patients to talk about their anger. Enterprising psychologists and psychiatrists devised schemes to make such patients angry. As a medical student, I watched from behind a one-way mirror as a hospitalized depressed ...

Mrs. N. is a 44-year-old nurse with major depression who only had a partial response to venlafaxine 300 mg / day taken for 6 months. Upon referral, her symptoms were of mild-tomoderate intensity (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale [HAM-D17] = 14). When interviewed, Ms. N. complained mostly of anergia, fatigue, and hypersomnia (12–16 hr/d sleeping), but denied the presence of depressive mood. She ...

EditorÐWe congratulate the authors on an excellent review of aspects of the pathophysiology of malignant hyperthermia (MH). They have explained the postulated role of serotonin in MH, in particular the role of peripheral 5-HT2 receptors, based on in vitro and in vivo animal work. There are important parallels between serotonin toxicity and MH, and this review adds to our understanding of the ro...