Posted by House_DJs on December 22, 2003, at 23:01:01
In reply to Re: Dopamine » OldSchool, posted by Bob on March 14, 2002, at 1:25:57
Speaking as if there are only ‘a few’ neurotransmitters in the brain that are involved with Clinical Depression/Anxiety Disorders. When there are a vast number that work in conjunction w/eachother to control one’s mood.
Just because you no longer respond to SSRI’s doesn’t eliminate Serotonin as a possible problem. Remember, we all have enough Serotonin in our bodies, it’s just how our brain’s are using it where the problem lies. We must remember that there are several areas of the brain that are ‘chemically imbalanced’ in sufferers. Those that respond to SSRI’s - balancing out Serotonin has positive effects on the rest of the faulty neurotransmitters, lifting them out of their malfunctioning state.
I don’t know why we’re focusing in on Dopamine? Why not the several other branches of Serotonin like Serotonin 1A or Serotonin 3? Why not focus in on imbalanced Noradrenaline levels? Substance P levels? BDNF levels? & Last but definitely not least – CRF levels? When people on the board start talking like they’re ‘so sure’ of what they’re saying is when you know you’re being mislead. The Psychiatrists/Psychologists themselves haven’t mastered this illness, so how could any of us?
CRF antagonists by the way should be out in about 5-6yrs. if the Clinical Trial phases go as successfully well as they have bin. I’m lucky enough to have a Doctor that works @ a Psych. Facility who will be involved w/the Clinical Trials in a year & a half. He promised me a reserved spot to try the drug(s). We’ll see what comes of it. My doc. Believes it’s the Amygdala that is the root of all the other malfunctioning neurotransmitters in the brain. i.e. Serotonin & other neurotransmitters being imbalanced is just an effect of the Amygdala malfunctioning. The Amygdala plays an incredible role in Mood Disorders. It stores emotional memories of past experiences & controls fear response, etc. CRF antagonists will work to bring the Amygdala back to normal, thus alleviating Anxiety Disorders & Clinical Depression, without having to try & tweak the malfunctioning brain from the 2ndary effects, 3rd, 4th & 5th – all in hopes of truly correcting the neurotransmitter at the root that’s behind this all.
Yes it’s bin known that long-term SSRI use results in imbalanced levels of Dopamine & Noradrenaline. But beyond this, the most successful AntiDepressants always have bin the least used ones… MAOI’s & ECT as OldSchool stated. MAOI’s come w/no harm so long as you obey the diet that comes with it. ECT, 6months of short-term memory loss w/o any permanent damage.
If you’re still hooked on OldSchool’s Dopamine theory, let me inform you about Wellbutrin – it’s an AntiDepressant that strictly works on Dopamine. It’s bin proven to be NO MORE EFFECTIVE than any other AntiDepressant. So the answer to all our problems doesn’t lie in Wellbutrin. Beyond that, Effexor taken close to the maximum dose works on Serotonin, Noradrenaline & Dopamine – again, Effexor hasn’t bin shown to be more effective than any other AntiDepressant. & Then there’s all those methamphetamines (ADD medications) to try that strictly boost your Dopamine levels. NONE of which have been shown to be significantly effective in cases of Clinical Depression – I myself have tried Ritalin & Dexedrine with 0% relief. So yes they have studied the impacts of Dopamine in Depression, & the fact of the matter is – it plays little of a role in the grand scheme of things.
Lastly I’ve heard of no studies (my Doctor confimed this) of ECT specifically improving the flow of Dopamine from cell to cell in Depressed patients. For those that are truly familiar w/ECT, it’s like a reboot/restart for your brain. For those that find an alleviated Depression w/it, it balances out any neurological malfunction – ALL of it, not just Dopamine. & for those that don’t, well needless to say…
Let me inform you that the information i’ve provided above was all given to me by my Psychiatrist Dr.Martin Katzman @ the Centre For Addiction & Mental Health. He’s is the chief Anxiety Disorder & Clinical Depression specialist. He’s done vast research w/numerous drug companies & consults with the top medical professionals of the world.
Hope you found this as informative as I did writing it.
Amer Q.
poster:House_DJs
thread:97638
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031219/msgs/292600.html