BACKGROUND Studies have linked depression to sudden death and serious cardiovascular events in patients with preexisting cardiac illness. Recent studies have shown decreased vagal function in cardiac patients with depression and depressed patients without cardiac illness. METHODS We compared 20-hour, sleeping, and awake heart period variability measures using spectral analysis, fractal dimens...

Amitriptyline is a frequently prescribed tricyclic antidepressant. Although amitriptyline and its active metabolite, nortriptyline, have been widely detected in natural waters, their environmental fate due to photodegradation is poorly understood. Here we describe a study conducted to investigate the photodegradation of amitriptyline and its active metabolite under simulated sunlight. Neither a...

Nineteen identical (monozygotic) and 20 fraternal (dizygotic) sets of twins between 45 and 51 years of age were given nortriptyline orally in doses of 0.2 mg./kg. body weight three times daily for eight days. The steady-state plasma concentrations of nortriptyline were calculated from the mean of the determinations for days 6, 7, and 8. Identical twins, not treated with other drugs, achieved si...

BACKGROUND This study augments a randomized controlled trial to analyze the cost-effectiveness of 2 standardized treatments for major depression relative to each other and to the "usual care" provided by primary care physicians. METHODS A randomized controlled trial was conducted in which primary care patients meeting DSM-III-R criteria for current major depression were assigned to pharmacoth...

Aim. To determine the ability of nortriptyline, alone and in combination with budesonide, to inhibit production pro-inflammatory cytokines peripheral blood natural killer (NK) cells patients chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) establish molecular mechanisms combined action these drugs. Material methods. Blood from COPD (n=21) were incubated or their combination. Cytokine production, ex...

Background and Objective: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and tricyclic antidepressants are utilized for treatment of post stroke depression, reduced quality of life and poor compliance.  This study compared the effects of sertraline and nortriptyline on the quality of life and depression in post-stroke patients. Materials and Methods: This randomized double-blind trial was con...

Background: Gastric ulcer is among the most serious stomach disorder universally. Several effective drugs are employed in the management of this disease, although there have been adverse effects in some cases. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of nortriptyline to protect against gastric lesions, induced by indomethacin or cold-stress in rats. Methods: Gastric lesions were ind...