Posted by jrbecker on October 10, 2002, at 23:44:20
In reply to Re: Atypical Depression - any new treatments?, posted by patc on October 10, 2002, at 21:38:55
> Did Gepirone help?
>
> Or were on a placebo?
>
> I took Lamactil, but it caused s/t memory loss. I would lose my train of thought too often.
>
> I did Nardil for years and I stopped because it pooped out and the side effects sucked, especially the 60 pound weight gain.
>
> PatUnfortunately, I got the placebo. It was a 3 variable study testing paxil and gepirone against placebo.
The recent news about the FDA hold up, as was reported on the Organon website as well as news sites like the NY Times, stated that the FDA was wary of the efficacy rates. This data referred to an earlier study that tested gepirone against prozac. I'm a little worried about what the efficacy problems were. But I think the FDA flagged two things: 1) there was a low # of subjects in the study, and 2) there is skepticism over whether gepirone is really equal to an SSRI treatment.
Here's the pro-con argument on the issue of gepirone as I see it:
Supposedly, the data has been fairly good. As one researcher put it to me: "too many people have been feeling better for it to be just Paxil's effect." But, in all honesty though, I don't believe gepirone will be the ultimate cure-all for us atypicals. I doubt it will pack the 'euphoric' punch that most of the SSRIs do. Here's why. First of all, it's been kickin around the research circuit for over 15 years now. And secondly, it is a close cousin to Buspar, which I think is a joke of a drug as a monotherapy for either depression or anxiety. However, this might be good news…since the SSRIs induce a subtle hypomania in many atypical sufferers, not to mention the emotional-numbing & apathy that pretty much anybody who takes them experiences. Of course, their sh*ity side effects speak for themselves as well. So gepirone might be a better treatment afterall.In theory, the 5HT1a drug family (Azaspirones) is ideal for depression treatment. More of the newer azaspirones in research right now are more highly selective to 5HT1a than buspar. In addition they are antagonists to 5HT2, and metabolizing to the potent alpha-2 receptor antagonist…all good news. Now, whether these drugs work as good in practice is a different story. There are a number of reasons why they just might not, but I won't ramble any further here. Anyhow, there are a plethora of published studies that prove gepirone's efficacy over placebo. Also, it has been shown that it attenuates hypersomnia and overeating, as well as improving sexual functioning….
www.pslgroup.com/dg/21710e.htm
www.pslgroup.com/dg/217266.htmLong story short, I think we'll have to wait and see. It's too easy to be overly eager about these new drugs without knowing how much of a treatment innovation it might be.
Of particular note: As I mentioned, one reason why the FDA has held it up is b/c there haven't been enough subjects recruited. So if anybody's interested in participating, please call Organon or any local research hospitals or university medical centers in your area to see if you can get in the study and hopefully, we can see this drug on the market sooner than we think. And if you know of anybody interested, please pass it on. HELP US GET THIS ON THE MARKET FOR ALL OF US TO TRY! The study is fairly short and if you end up getting gepirone, you will most likely be able to continue taking the drug.
Pat: as for your trial of Lamictal, I'm interested in knowing how long you were on it and what dosage you tried. For me, almost all of traces of the side effects, including the memory and speech impairments, dissipated with time.
J
poster:jrbecker
thread:123105
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021006/msgs/123169.html