Anxiety and anxiolytics second half 1.0 Flashcards
Treatments of anxiety disorders?
Beta blockers, benzodiasepines, antidepressants, buspirone
How do beta blockers work?
They block beta adrenergic receptors
What symptoms of anxiety do beta blockers target?
Autonomic systems
SSRI stands for?
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
What specific anxiety type could propranolol (beta blocker) treat?
Phobias
How is propranolol used to treat phobias?
Give patient drug then expose them to thing they’re scared of
What is propranolol thought to work on?
Hippocampus–> where -ve memories of the thing are removed (positive association forms instead of -ve association)
How does buspirone work?
It is a partial agonist at 5-HT1a receptors (turning up inhibition in those neurons)
How do SSRIs work?
Bind to reuptake transporters, thus boosting levels of serotonin in synapse
What is the preferred treatment for generalized anxiety disorder, PD and PTSD?
Combined noradrenaline and 5HT uptake blockers
WHat are some combined noradrenaline and 5HT uptake blockers?
venflaxine, duloxetine
What do benzodiazepines bind to?
GABAa receptors
Role of GABA?
Inhibitory NT
What can the binding of drugs to allosteric site on GABAa receptors do?
Turn up or down gating of CL- ions in the presence of GABA
What is an inverse agonist?
Something that binds and turns down the receptor
What do benzodiazepine agonists do once bound to GABA?
Turn up the effects of endogenous GABA
Where on the GABAa receptor do benzodiazepines bind?
Alpha gamma interface
General structure of benzodiazapines?
Benzene ring joined to a 7 membered 1,4-diazepine ring (R 1 2 3 5 7 8 are side groups)
What do the R side groups change ab benzodizepine?
Affinity, intrinsic efficacy, lipophilicity, water solubility
Affinity meaning?
How likely something is to bind
Intrinsic efficacy meaning?
The effect of smthn once bound
What is the intrinsic efficacy of a BZ agonist?
+ve (100%)
What is the intrinsic efficacy of BZ inverse agonists?
-ve
