Posted by SLS on December 9, 2000, at 17:20:35
In reply to Re: Drug-Induced Weight Gain - Some Mechanisms » Lisabet, posted by Cam W. on December 7, 2000, at 14:07:48
> Lisa - It probably isn't what Wellbutrin has that prevents weight gain, it is probably what it doesn't have. Wellbutrin doesn't block serotonin receptors (5-HT2C, to be exact), histaminergic (H1) receptors or muscarinic/cholinergic (M1) receptors to any appreciable extent. All of these receptors have been implicated in weight gain caused by the tricyclics (TCAs) and SSRIs.
Dear Cam,I double-checked my SSRI weight-gain information. Isn't the fact that weight-gain occurs during increased 5-HT2C receptor stimulation resulting from SSRIs paradoxical? I thought 5-HT2C stimulation produced weight-loss and reduced appetite rather than weight-gain and hyperphagia. Fenfluramine might be a paradigm of this effect. I believe this is why the drug manufacturers noted weight-loss as predominant over weight-gain in their clinical trials and noted such in their labelling. People do lose weight on these drugs. I would love to know the true statistics in a homogeneous population of unipolar depressives. I would then like to see a comparison of weight-gain vs weight-loss in five subpopulations:
1) treatment-resistant depression (TRD)
2) rapid poop-out
3) unambiguous, fully qualified atypical unipolar depression with reverse vegetative symptomology.
4) bipolar depression
5) dysthymiaI wonder if weight-gain is more likely to occur in these conditions. Perhaps they are indicative of a subsensitive 5-HT2C receptor polymorphism associated with depression or an idiosyncratic acceleration of 5-HT2C downregulation.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:50044
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20001130/msgs/50284.html