Depression treatment target

As noted earlier, when a primary psychiatric disorder is diagnosed, generally medication treatment targets the primary illness, such as antipsychotics for schizophrenia or antidepressants for agitated depression. 

Indeed, 5-HT is also a substrate for the 5-HT transporter, itself an important player in the treatment of depression, and more recently for the whole range of anxiety disorders spectrum (GAD, OCD, social and other phobias, panic and post-traumatic stress disorders). It is the target for SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) such as fluoxetine, paroxetine, fluvoxamine, and citalopram or the more recent dual reuptake inhibitors (for 5-HT and noradrenaline, also known as SNRIs) such as venlafaxine. Currently, there are efforts to develop triple uptake inhibitors (5-HT, NE, and DA). Further combinations are possible, e.g. SB-649915, a combined 5-HTia, 5-HT1b, 5-HT1d inhibitor/selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), is investigated for the treatment of major depressive disorder. 

The authors concluded that antidepressants exert a modest beneficial effect for patients with combined depressive disorder and substance use disorder. They also emphasized that antidepressants are not a stand-alone treatment for depressed alcoholic patients and that concurrent therapy directly targeting the substance use disorder is also indicated. 

Inositol monophosphatase catalyzes the hydrolysis of inositol-1-phosphate, inositol-4-phosphate, and various nucleoside 2 -phosphates. The enzyme has attracted considerable interest in recent years because it is believed to be an important target for lithium therapy in treatment of manic-depression. Inositol monophosphatase inhibited in the presence... 

The dopamine transporter has been a target for developing pharmacotherapies for a number of CNS disorders including ADHD, stimulant abuse, depression and Parkinson s disease. Several excellent reviews in this area have been recently published [28-30]. The dopamine reuptake inhibitor methylphenidate has been successfully used for decades in the management of ADHD in children and adolescents. It remains a first-line treatment along with amphetamine for this disorder [31,32]. 

Melatonin receptor agonists and their relevance for the treatment of sleep disorders and major depression have been previously reviewed in Ann. Rep. Med. Chem., volume 39 [29]. Since then, ramelteon has been approved, representing an important milestone for the proof of concept of this target, and has opened new possibilities for research. 

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