These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: 5HT1A receptors and pharmacotherapy. Is serotonin receptor down-regulation linked to the mechanism of action of antidepressant drugs?
    Author: Stahl S.
    Journal: Psychopharmacol Bull; 1994; 30(1):39-43. PubMed ID: 7972628.
    Abstract:
    Numerous observations support the notion that serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) and its multiple receptor subtypes are linked not only to the biological basis of depression, but also to the mechanism of action of antidepressant drugs. A general hypothesis of 5-HT receptor dysregulation in depression suggests that 5-HT1A receptors may be down-regulated, whereas 5-HT2 receptors may be up-regulated and display an inadequate ability to convert receptor occupancy by 5-HT into an adequate physiological response. Preclinical studies show that numerous antidepressants down-regulate both 5-HT1A and 5-HT2 receptors. Clinical studies using post mortem tissues, neuroendocrine probes, and platelet models also confirm that antidepressants down-regulate 5-HT receptors in depressed patients. In some cases this down-regulation correlates with measures of clinical antidepressant responsiveness. This correlation supports the hypothesis that down-regulation of 5-HT receptors, particularly the 1A and 2 subtypes, may be linked to the mechanism of action of numerous antidepressant drugs.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]