BACKGROUND We have shown that serotonin transporter (SERT) clustering in blood lymphocytes is altered in major depression and correlates with pharmacological therapeutic responses measured with the Hamilton scale. In the present report, we extend these results to the self-assessment anhedonia scale, as anhedonia is a cardinal symptom of major depression that is difficult to treat with first-lin...

Weight gain is a major problem during psychopharmacological treatment. Research has concentrated on the appetite inducing properties and mechanisms of these drugs in the central nervous system. The potential contribution of direct effects of drugs on metabolically relevant peripheral cells such as adipocytes is less well understood. We examined the influence of the antidepressant imipramine, th...

Although a number of studies have observed that females respond better to serotonergic antidepressants than males and that postmenopausal females have a diminished response to antidepressants compared with younger females, there are also studies that conflict with both of these findings, making any generalizations regarding sex differences difficult to make. Sex variance in antidepressant effic...

The importance of pyrimidine nucleus in the metabolism of neurone is well recognised. Several compounds which are intimately concerned wrth the essential life processes of the neurones such as vitamins, coenzymes and both RNA and DNA of the mitochondria and of the nuclei contain pyrimidine moiety. It is not surprising that quite a large number of central nervous system depressants are derived f...

Various treatment modalities of acute and chronic pain have been an area of demand and interest for centuries. This article discusses the positive and negative consequences of pharmacological treatment of pain. The literature is based on extensive review of the data gathered among the experts in the field. This study focuses on the 2 major classes of drugs that are used to control pain: opioid ...

Correspondence to: Professor R E Clouse, Division of Gastroenterology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Ave, Campus Box 8124, St Louis, MO 63110, USA; [email protected] _________________________ INTRODUCTION In 1990 we asked clinicians attending a symposium during the annual meeting of the American Gastroenterological Association how many were using psychopharmacolo...