Mechanisms of action of selected drug therapies used in the treatment of refractory depression

pproximately 20% of depressed patients are refractory to conventional therapy, but some treatment strategies (e.g. high-dose tranylcypromine (TCP); TCP in combination with amitriptyline (AMI); and desipramine (DMI) in combination with fluoxetine (FLU)) have been shown to be relatively effective in the treatment of these refractory depressed patients. Chronic studies were performed to investigate some of the biochemical changes that occurred in rats treated with these novel treatments. High dose TCP (2.5 mg/kg/day) produced significantly greater levels of noradrenaline (NA) and serotonin (5-HT) in brain and a greater and more rapid decrease in...