Antidepressants Flashcards
What are the affective or mood disorders in the DSM-V?
- group of diagnoses with disturbances in affect (expressed vs observed emotional response)
1. depressive disorders
2. anxiety disorders
What are the types of anxiety disorders?
- GAD
- PTSD
- panic disorders
- phobia
What are the 6 types of depression and how are they treated (only first 2)?
- major depressive disorder/unipolar depression
- clinical depression (no manic episodes)
- treated by antidepressant drugs
- characterized by recurring depressive episodes - bipolar disorder/manic depression
- periods of depression alternating with periods of mania
- treated by mood stabalizers - dysthymia/persistent depressive disorder
- seasonal affective disorder
- recurring depressive episodes that occur during a season - postpartum depression and menopausal depression
- hormone changes - adjustment disorder with depression/stress response syndrome
What is the etiology of depression?
- exact mechanism not known
- related to chronic stress and disease of limbic system
- complex polygenic mechanism with contributing environmental factors
What is the lifetime prevalence of depression?
- 17% of adults in the US at least once in their lifetime
- women affected 2x as frequently as men
- leading cause of disability
- can lead to suicie (800 000 people a year), second most common cause of death 15-29 year olds
What conditions are often comorbid with depression (secondary depression)
- chronic pain
- cancer
- stroke
- CV disease
- depresison can also be a risk factor for these conditions
How is depression diagnosed?
- clinical patient interview
- must have at least 5 symptoms present in same 2 week period
- depressed mood
- loss of pleasure and interest in daily acitivities
- altered eating
- altered sleeping
- fatigue or loss of energy
- feelings of wotthlessness
- suicidal thoughts
- etc
What are the current available treatments for depression?
- psychotherapy
- chemical antidepressants
- electroconvulsive therapy
What are the drawbacks of chemical antidepressants?
- delay of therapeutic response: takes weeks ot regular dosing, patients can stop taking it because they think it doesn’t work
- side effects can limit use: elderly are equally responsive but are more likely to experience adverse effects (prefer SSRIs) because of age –> BP changes, CV effects, GI
Monoamine hypothesis
- depression is related to a deficiency in the levels of 5HT, NE and DA projecting from pontine and midbrain areas to cortical and limbic structures
- changes in downstream signalling at postsynaptic sites is also likely involved
- reserpine 1950s: antihypertensive that depeleted monoamines in the brain by blocking VMAT, people taking the drug started to develop depression
- imipramine 1958: first tricyclic antidepressant that transports all 3 monoamines
- al current available antidepressants enhance synaptic availability of monoamines
(monoamines are made fro AAs and packaged into vesicles by VMAT and act on metabotripic GPCRs_
Neurotrophic hypothesis
- loss of neurotrophic growth factors (BDNF) leads to neuronal atrophy and death
- BDNF is important in cell survival and synaptic plasticity
- may be due to decrease in monoamine as they are involved in new synapses (NE and 5HT)
- may be due to stress –> increased glucocorticoid levels –> decreased trophic support
- when BDNF binds to TRK-B receptors it leads to increased neuronal survival and growth
- antidepressants increase BDNF in the brain (as well as exercise and therapy)
MAOIs: clinical use
- first modern class of antidepressants
- iproniazid –> developed in early 1950s for TB
- primarily used in treatment resistant MDD
- atypical depressions
- anxiety states including social anxiety and panic disorder
MAOIs: mechanism of action
- increased synaptic availability of NE and 5HT by blocking their catabolism via inhibiting MAO enzymes (MAO A: targets tyramine, NE, 5HT, DA and MAO B: targets mainly DA)
MAOI drugs
phenelzine (nardil) and tranylcypromine (parnate)
- irrversible, non selective MAO-A and MOA-B inhibitors
- worse side effects than other MAOIs
maclobemide (aurorix, amira, clobemix, depnil)
- reversible MAO-A inhibitor
selegiline (deprenyl)
- irreversible MAO-B inhibitor at low dose
- non selective MAOI at higher dose
- iproniazid –> first one developed in 1950s and was used for TB
Why are MAOIs not used as first line treatment?
- hypertensive crisis due to increased tyramine
- increased circulation of active bioamines (can’t combine with SSRIs)
- narrow theraprutic range
- generalized effects
Side effects of MAOIs (reversible and irreversible)
most common: orthostatic hypotension (due to tyramine) and weight gain
other: dry mouth, constipation, blurry vision, headache and drowsiness, insomnia, restlessness, sexual dysfunction
- reversible: side effects are more transient
- irreversible non selective: highest rate of sexual dysfunction
- potentiate the action of other sedatives such as alcohol
Drug interactions with MAOIs
drugs that increases 5HT and NE
- SSRIs
- TCAs
MAOI overdose
- uncommon but can cause hyperthermia, seizures, shock, delerium, and comatose state
MAO-A inhibitors and tyramine interaction
- MAOI inhibits MAO-A which breaks down tyramine
- high levels of tyramine and low MAO-A levels lead to increased NE circulation because it is displaced from vesicles by tyramine
- this causes overwhelming vasoconstriction leading to hypertensive crisis
- headaches, intracranial bleeding, stroke, myocardial infarction
- this can be fatal
- foods containing tyramine
- cheese, smoke meat and fish, wines, chocolate, coffee, beans
5HT reuptake bloackade side effects
GI disturbances, anxiety, sexual dysfunction
NE reuptake bloackade side effects
tremors, tachycardia
DA uptake blockade side effects
psychomotor activation, antiparkinsonian effects, psychosis, increased attention, concentration
H1 receptor blockade side effects
sedation, drowsiness, weight gain, hypotension