Posted by mtom on July 28, 2019, at 19:24:25
Articles and papers on various Antidepressants often include phrases like "it is not entirely clear how it works, but..." or "it is thought to work by.....".
At least one major Medical website comes right out and states: "The truth is that even experts aren't completely sure how antidepressants work".
Another article states: "For a start, there have long been holes in the chemical imbalance theory, the idea that SSRIs work by fixing a lack of serotonin. The drugs do raise serotonin levels in the junctions between brain cells, but there is no consistent evidence that people with depression have less serotonin than others. There is even less evidence that SNRIs work by correcting an imbalance of noradrenaline".
I'm sure most of you have read these statements in past along with "alternative theories" of how they work (when they do).
A recent study titled "Depression as a Neuroendocrine Disorder: Emerging Neuropsychopharmacological Approaches beyond Monoamines" states "Both the limited effectivity of existing AD and the scarcity of novel options may stem from a once revolutionary, yetin retrospectexcessive and misguided focus on the monoamine hypothesis for the pathophysiology of depression, which centers on defective neurotransmission of serotonin (5-hydroxytriptamine, 5HT), noradrenaline (NA), and dopamine (DA) in the brain" and "the monoamine hypothesis has been heavily contested regarding its validity and the relative importance of its components". The paper offers some interesting theories for exploration: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330126549_Depression_as_a_Neuroendocrine_Disorder_Emerging_Neuropsychopharmacological_Approaches_beyond_Monoamines/link/5c2ec522a6fdccd6b58f9f2e/download
My Doctor spoke with a P-Doc researcher at a recent Conference who told her that depression is increasingly being investigated as an autoimmune disorder, and that new research was looking at treating it with Biologics similar to those used to treat Rheumatoid Arthritis. There is in fact a study underway testing this: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/8/9/e025333
poster:mtom
thread:1105485
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20190728/msgs/1105485.html