Experimental medication treatment approaches for depression

Depression is one of the most common psychiatric conditions. Symptoms can lead to significant disability, which result in impairments in overall quality of life. Though there are many approved antidepressant treatments for depression-including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, tricyclic antid...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Translational psychiatry 2017-03, Vol.7 (3), p.e1068-e1068
Main Authors: Ionescu, D F, Papakostas, G I
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analgesics, Opioid - therapeutic use
Anti-Inflammatory Agents - therapeutic use
Antidepressive Agents - therapeutic use
Antidiuretic Hormone Receptor Antagonists - therapeutic use
Cholinergic Agents - therapeutic use
Depressive Disorder - drug therapy
Depressive Disorder, Major - drug therapy
Drug Discovery
Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists - therapeutic use
Humans
Neurokinin-1 Receptor Antagonists - therapeutic use
Review
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Summary:Depression is one of the most common psychiatric conditions. Symptoms can lead to significant disability, which result in impairments in overall quality of life. Though there are many approved antidepressant treatments for depression-including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants and monoamine oxidase inhibitors-about a third of patients do not respond to these medications. Therefore, it is imperative for drug discovery to continue towards the development of novel and rapidly acting compounds, especially for patients with treatment-resistant depression. After a brief review of the efficacy of approved antidepressant therapies, we will discuss experimental medication treatments for depression. Specifically, we examine novel medications that are thought to primarily modulate the glutamatergic, cholinergic and opioid systems to achieve antidepressant efficacy. We also give examples of anti-inflammatories, neurokinin-1 modulators, vasopressin antagonists and neurogenesis enhancers that may have a therapeutic role in treatment-resistant depression. The current pipeline of antidepressant treatments is shifting towards medications with novel mechanisms, which may lead to important, life-changing discoveries for patients with severe disease.
ISSN:2158-3188
2158-3188
DOI:10.1038/tp.2017.33