Posted by LouisianaSportsman on April 14, 2014, at 22:59:12
In reply to Re: Brintellix vs Lexapro, posted by Louisiana Sportsman on April 10, 2014, at 13:37:52
Hey, porkie!
I thought about you when I just read "Electrophysiological Investigations on the Role of Selected Serotonin Receptors and the Serotonin Transporter on Serotonin Transmission in the Rat Brain" which is a study by Maurice Lecours who works at the University of Ottawa, Institute of Mental Health Research. It compared Brintellix to Lexapro's pharmacological effects.
Link:https://www.ruor.uottawa.ca/en/bitstream/handle/10393/30400/Lecours_Maurice_2014_thesis.pdf?sequence=3
What I found most interesting from his fascinating research were the following excerpts:
"These findings indicate that either the co-administration of an SSRI in addition to a 5-HT3 receptor antagonist or a multimodal agent that acts as a SSRI and 5-HT3 receptor, such as vortioxetine, could enhance 5-HT neurotransmission to produce AD and antiemesis effects, similar to that of litoxetine, after long-term administration."
To me, it seems that Lecours is suggesting that augmenting a SSRI such as escitalopram to Brintellix might be a good idea because you have to keep this excerpt in mind (also excerpted from the same study):
"This study has demonstrated that selective 5-HT agents alone, such as escitalopram, and multimodal agents, such as vortioxetine, alter 5-HT neurotransmission through different receptors and exert different actions, via transporter and/or receptor activity, on the serotonergic system in the hippocampus consistent with other antidepressant strategies and with a unique pharmacological profile."
Additionally, compared to other SSRIs, this study revealed: "vortioxetine has a low occupancy for the 5-HTT, escitalopram was used at a dose of 5 mg/kg in order to better mimic the effects of low occupancy alone."
I'm suggesting, based upon these excerpts I've provided from Lecours' study, that augmentation of Lexapro would perhaps enhance vortioxetine's unique pharmacological effects? Maybe the conjugation of Brintellix with Lexapro co-administered could theoretically provide a more potent antidepressant/anxiolytic effect for patients not responsive or who did achieve full remission of their symptoms when prescribed Brintellix?
Just a theory I came up with when I read this relevant research.
poster:LouisianaSportsman
thread:1063866
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20140328/msgs/1064235.html