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Stanford Health Care

Pharmacological principles of antidepressant efficacy HUMAN PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY-CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL Schatzbergy, A. F. 2002; 17: S17-S22

Abstract

Both noradrenaline (NA) and serotonin (5-HT) appear to be involved in depression. Evidence suggests that dual-acting antidepressants, i.e. those that affect both monoamine systems, such as tricyclic antidepressants and the noradrenergic and specific serotonergic antidepressant mirtazapine, may have greater efficacy and a faster onset of action than drugs that act on a single monoamine system only, such as the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Cell firing is reduced by SSRIs in the short-term, but is increased by mirtazapine, probably due to its actions on both NA (via alpha(2) antagonism) and 5-HT (via alpha(1)-stimulation by NA). This may help to explain clinical evidence suggesting that mirtazapine has a faster onset of action than the more selective antidepressants.

View details for DOI 10.1002/hup.399

View details for Web of Science ID 000176403800003

View details for PubMedID 12404665