Posted by sukarno on April 15, 2005, at 4:09:53
Hi, I have been doing more research on Stablon (tianeptine), a modified tricyclic antidepressant useful in treating depression and various anxio-depressive states.
Information is hard to come across when it involves medications which are neither FDA-approved nor used in the United States.
Stablon has shown promise in treating not only depression, but also bronchial asthma according to pulmonology specialist Dr. Lechin, M.D. and associates who have done numerous studies on it recently.
Stablon has also been shown to block panic attacks as well as Paxil (paroxetine) when panic disorder patients were exposed to 35% CO2 (carbon dioxide) gas.
The problem is that after doing more research, I have found that Stablon (tianeptine) is closely related to Survector (amineptine), which is known and demonstrated to be toxic to the liver (hepatotoxic). This led to Survector's manufacturer to stop marketing the drug and now it is hard to find.
Stablon was thought to be quite safe, but it too is metabolised in the same way as Survector... broken down into reactive metabolites in the liver. This in turn, in susceptible individuals, can cause death to lymphocytes and liver cells (hepatocellular damage), resulting in hepatitis, cholangitis and necrosis. Often a rash precedes the hepatotoxicity and abrupt discontinuation results in quick recovery.
If anyone else here is taking, or considering to take, Stablon or Survector, please note the following information contained in the abstract below. This is one of many abstracts which demonstrate hepatotoxicity. Those considering taking these drugs should have frequent LFTs (liver function tests) to be on the safer side.
1: J Hepatol. 1994 Nov;21(5):771-3. Related Articles, LinksTianeptine--an instance of drug-induced hepatotoxicity predicted by prospective experimental studies.
Le Bricquir Y, Larrey D, Blanc P, Pageaux GP, Michel H.
Service d'Hepato-gastroenterologie Hopital Saint-Eloi, Montpellier, France.
We report the case of a patient who developed acute hepatitis after taking tianeptine, a new tricyclic antidepressant, for 8 weeks. Hepatitis exhibited cholangitis-like clinical features and was associated with hypersensitivity manifestations suggestive of an immuno-allergic mechanism. Histological examination showed microvesicular steatosis. The discontinuation of tianeptine administration was followed by complete recovery. Immunoallergic hepatitis and microvesicular steatosis were predicted 2 years ago from prospective experimental studies prompted by the similarity of the chemical structures of tianeptine and amineptine, another tricyclic antidepressant, well-known for its hepatotoxicity. Experimentally, tianeptine has been found to be oxidized into reactive metabolites in several rodents and human liver and to produce microvesicular steatosis probably through inhibition of mitochondrial beta-oxidation of fatty acid in mice. This case illustrates the value of prospectively assessing potential hepatotoxicity mechanisms for new compounds chemically related to drugs already known to be hepatotoxic.
Publication Types:
* Case Reports
PMID: 7890892 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
poster:sukarno
thread:484544
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