The effect of graded doses of clorgyline, a preferential inhibitor of MAO A, and of deprenil, a preferential inhibitor of MAO B, on the activities of serotonin-deaminating MAO (MAO A) of dopamine-deaminating MAO, and of phenethylamine-deaminating MAO, (MAO B), in rat corpus striatum were compared with the effects of the drugs on striatal levels of homovanillic acid(HVA) and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC). The dose-response curves for the two last-mentioned dopamine metabolites closely follow those for MAO A and dopamine-deaminating activity, whether clorgyline or deprenil was used as MAO inhibitor. In addition, the effect of these drugs on dopamine levels and on the accumulation of 3H-dopamine + 3H-methoxytyramine formed from 3H-DOPA in rat whole brain was analysed. In contrast to the marked increases caused by clorgyline, the effects of deprenil were negligible. In reserpinized rats, clorgyline potentiated the effect of L-DOPA on motor activity; deprenil did not. These results suggest that the deamination of dopamine in vivo is almost entirely effected by MAO A.
The antiserotonin properties of a series of neuroleptics, 5-HT-receptor blockers and some adrenoceptor antagonists were investigated in several in vivo test systems (L-5-HTP syndrome and 5-HT-paw edema in the rat) and in an in vitro test (isolated rat uterus preparation). The results were compared to the results obtained with these drugs in an in vivo 3H-spiperone binding assay in the rat. The computations of the relative ED50 (or IC50) values obtained in different test procedures showed that the ability of drugs to bind to 5-HT receptors labelled by 3H-spiperone in the rat frontal cortex correlates fairly well with their potencies to inhibit the L-5-HTP syndrome or 5-HT-induced rat pawedema (Spearman rank correlation coefficient, r = 0.80 and 0.79 respectively, n = 22). In an in vitro test (rat uterus) the estimated 5-HT-receptor blocking potency of the tested drugs did not, however, correlate with any of the in vivo measures used for this purpose. The results suggest, therefore, that for the determination of central antiserotonin effects of drugs in the rat, functional in vivo tests (L-5-HTP syndrome or 5-HT-induced rat paw-edema) could yield about the same information as the specific, in vivo 3H-spiperone binding assay. The 5-HT-receptor type mediating the behavioral responses to L-5-HTP is tentatively defined as a 5-HT2 receptor.
The onset of action of antidepressant drugs was investigated on the basis of two independent, multicenter, double-blind studies, comparing amitriptyline (N = 120), oxaprotiline (N = 120), imipramine (N = 506) and moclobemide (N = 580) with placebo (N = 189/+191). Highly significant differences between the active drugs and placebo were found with respect to the total number of improvers and the total number of responders. In addition, significant differences between treatment modalities showed up in both the percentage rate and the time distribution of premature withdrawals. However, among improvers, the distribution of time spans to onset of improvement was found to be independent of treatment modality, indicated by virtually identical cumulative percentages of improvers over the whole observation period. This picture of treatment-independent improvement rates was essentially the same for the HAMD, HAMA and ZUNG assessments, except for a significant time lag between observerratings and self-ratings. Specifically, our analyses revealed no evidence for a delayed onset of action of various antidepressants with large biochemical and pharmacological differences when compared to placebo. The early onset of improvement was highly predictive of later outcome: on average, 70% of patients showing improvement within the first 14 days became responders. Differences between active treatments and placebo emerged within the first five days and reached a point of maximum distinction around day 14. After this time point, differences between treatment modalities remained constant until the end of the observation period. Not more than 20-25% of patients were, on average, "true" drug responders, thus suggesting that the therapeutic qualities of antidepressants do not lie in the suppression of symptoms, but rather relate to their ability to elicit and maintain certain conditions which enable recovery in a subgroup of patients who would otherwise remain nonresponders.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.