Posted by Bill L on January 9, 2002, at 11:32:04
In reply to Re: Newsweek Article - new drugs » Bill L, posted by bob on January 8, 2002, at 16:03:01
Decreases it. I should have been more careful with the wording since SSRI's block the reuptake of serotonin which increases the extracellular serotonin. More specifically, the drug being investigated inhibits CRF (corticotrophin releasing factor). Both CRF and cortisol inhibit a chemical in the body which is responsible for facilitating the proliferation of neurons.
As for the time frame of when it could be on the market, I don't remember the article mentioning one.
> When you say that the new drug "blocks cortisol", does that mean it increases the blood levels of it, or decreases it? I've read some articles which suggest a link between high levels of cortisol in the blood and depression, so I'm assuming that blocking cortisol would have an overall effect of reducing blood levels.
poster:Bill L
thread:89332
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020103/msgs/89435.html