introduction: celastrus paniculatus seed oil, commonly known as malkangni or jyotishmati, was in use from time immemorial to treat brain related disorders. celastrus paniculatus seed oil has significant antidepressant-like activity in chronic unpredictable stressed mice. the present study was undertaken to evaluate the antidepressant-like effect of celastrus paniculatus seed oil in unstressed m...

One measure of a treatment's effectiveness is the regularity with which it proves superior to placebo. That measure also tells us about the consequences of using a treatment as a standard against which to test a new agent. To assess the frequency with which approved and presumably effective antidepressants and anxiolytics show statistical superiority over placebo, we reviewed placebo-controlled...

Tricyclic and certain other antidepressants are widely used to treat chronic and neuropathic pain states. The first report of such activity appeared 40 years ago, soon after the introduction of tricyclic antidepressants into clinical medicine. Their efficacy in this regard is now well established through both clinical trials, as well as systematic and meta-analysis approaches. Although the mech...

There is considerable interest in defining new agents or targets for antithrombotic purposes. The 5-HT2A receptor is a G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) expressed on many cell types, and a known therapeutic target for many disease states. This serotonin receptor is also known to regulate platelet function. Thus, in our FDA-approved drug repurposing efforts, we investigated the antiplatelet acti...

Serotonin transporter (SERT) is the main target for widely used antidepressant agents. Several of these drugs, including imipramine, citalopram, sertraline, and fluoxetine (Prozac), bound more avidly to SERT in the presence of Cl(-). In contrast, Cl(-) did not enhance cocaine or paroxetine binding. A Cl(-) binding site recently identified in SERT, and shown to be important for Cl(-) dependent t...

In the current study, the involvement of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) and nitric oxide (NO)/cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) system in the antidepressant-like effects of baclofen was evaluated by using animal model in forced swimming test. Followed by an open field test for the evaluation of locomotor activity, the immobility time for mice in force swimming test was recorded. Only...

OBJECTIVE To describe the effectiveness and tolerability of mirtazapine, a noradrenergic and specific serotonergic antidepressant, in the open-label treatment of patients with depression who were resistant to other antidepressant agents. METHODS The charts of 24 patients who met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, (DSM-IV) criteria for major depressive d...

Mental disorders, such as depression and anxiety, pose both medical and social challenges. The clinical efficacy of current antidepressant/anxiolytic therapies is unsatisfactory; both antidepressant and anxiolytic drugs induce a variety of unwanted effects and have delayed onsets of action. Thus, a search for better and safer agents is continuously in progress. Preclinical results published so ...

OBJECTIVE In spite of the paucity of randomized controlled trials of antidepressants in postpartum depression, these drugs are the most commonly used agents in the pharmacologic treatment of postpartum depression. This article reviews the literature on the efficacy of antidepressants in randomized controlled trials of postpartum depression. DATA SOURCES Four electronic databases, MEDLINE/PubM...