Studies of a neurochemical link between depression, anxiety, and stress from [3H]imipramine and [3H]paroxetine binding on human platelets

Role of serotonergic and noradrenergic systems in the pathophysiology of depression and anxiety disorders

“…A more consistent finding has been reduced serotonin uptake and reduced serotonin transporter binding in platelets [Kaplan and Mann, 1982;Nemeroff, 1988;Owens and Nemeroff, 1994] and more recently in brain [Malison et al, 1998]. Reduced serotonin transporter binding has also been observed in generalized anxiety disorder [Iny et al, 1994].…”

The platelet as a peripheral marker in psychiatric illness

“…In order to identify any neurochemical link between anxiety and depression, platelet 3 H-imipramine and 3 H-paroxetine binding was measured in panic disorder and depression. No signi®cant differences in maximal binding capacity were present between the two disorders (Iny et al, 1994). The data does not clearly show whether serotonergic dysfunction is present in panic disorder.…”

Evidence for disturbed cortical signal processing and altered serotonergic neurotransmission in generalized anxiety disorder

“…The nonspecific 5-HT1 and 5-HT2 receptor agonist m-chlorophenylpiperazine led to increased anxiety and hostility in GAD (Germine et al 1992). Furthermore, a reduced platelet paroxetine binding was observed in GAD (Iny et al 1994). A growing body of evidence supports the therapeutic efficacy of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in GAD (Pollack et al 2001), which gives further evidence for the involvement of 5-HT in anxiety; however, preclinical studies and the efficacy of SSRIs in GAD raise the question of whether anxiety disorder is related to a hyper-or a hypofunction of 5-HT neurotransmission (Connor and Davidson 1998;Stein and Stahl 2000).…”