Posted by bleauberry on June 7, 2010, at 18:09:23 [reposted on June 11, 2010, at 14:14:48 | original URL]
In reply to what does 5-ht7 antagonist mean/do????, posted by mommyron on June 6, 2010, at 21:07:02
Well, they are discovering new things all the time. Not fast enough, but still.
It was only recently discovered amisulpride has the 5ht7 antagonism. The decision that is important for depression is based on observations of rat behavior, so I'm not sure that is completely accurate of what happens in a human. Kind of hard to ask the rat. Not convinced rat brains and human brains are the same, personally.
So now after all these years of assuming it is the low dose antagonism of dopamine receptors that makes amisulpride an antidepressant, all of a sudden it is now 5ht7. Ok. How about in 5 years? 10 years? What is there that we haven't yet discovered?
Probably a lot, opinion.Bottom line, we might be able to theorize what blocking a 5ht7 receptor does, mechanically, maybe even measure neurotransmitters as a result of it, and such, but does that mean it is going to help Jane or Joe or Sally? It is still a guessing game despite the best science we have.
The fact is, amisulpride improves depression and dysthymia, about the same as other drugs maybe a little better, definitely better in the anhedonia/motivation spectrum. But we may never know exactly how or why.
Interesting stuff though.
Amisulpride supposedly has no anticholinergic action, but I swear when I take it the anticholinergic stuff is there.
So who knows.
I say to anyone frustrated with USA meds, amisulrpide is an excellent substitute to at least try, for a wide spectrum of symptoms including dysthymia, anhedonia, anxiety, phobias, bipolar swings, and psychosis. The cool thing is the drug is several drugs in one, either singularly or simultaneously, by varying the dose. It changes with dose.
We saw someone here about a month ago pop in just to say his long standing treatment resistant depression was gone after his doctor started him on a program of just taking a tiny corner of a pill everyday. I don't hardly ever see that happen with USA meds. Ya know, so it's worth a look regardless of 5ht7 or anything else.
poster:bleauberry
thread:950721
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/neuro/20100607/msgs/950726.html