Richelson E
Department of Psychiatry, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL 32224.
J Clin Psychiatry. 1991 Jun;52 Suppl:4-10.
Before the advent of the pharmacologic treatment of depression, there were theories about the biological basis of affective disorders. However, today's theories are derived largely from known pharmacologic effects of antidepressants. These effects, derived from neurochemical studies with laboratory animals, have implicated catecholamines and serotonin in depression. Although most antidepressant drugs in use today have been available for decades, their mechanism of action in treating depression has not been established. In addition, theories about the biological causes of depression have not been proven. Nevertheless, the rich pharmacology for antidepressant drugs involving blockade of neuronal uptake systems for some biogenic amines and blockade of many receptors for neurotransmitters can explain some of their adverse effects and certain interactions with other drugs.
在抑郁症药物治疗出现之前，就存在关于情感障碍生物学基础的理论。然而，当今的理论很大程度上源自抗抑郁药已知的药理作用。这些来自动物实验神经化学研究的作用表明，儿茶酚胺和血清素与抑郁症有关。尽管如今使用的大多数抗抑郁药已上市数十年，但其治疗抑郁症的作用机制尚未明确。此外，关于抑郁症生物学病因的理论也未得到证实。尽管如此，抗抑郁药丰富的药理学特性，包括对某些生物胺的神经元摄取系统的阻断以及对多种神经递质受体的阻断，可以解释其一些不良反应以及与其他药物的某些相互作用。
