Department of Physiology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2-5-1 Shikata-cho, Kita-ku, Okayama, 700-8558, Japan.
J Physiol Sci. 2012 Nov;62(6):441-4. doi: 10.1007/s12576-012-0232-9. Epub 2012 Sep 25.
We review here that oxytocin (OT) is released into blood and within distinct brain regions in response to stressful and social stimuli, and has been shown to have an antidepressant-like effect in animal studies. Clinical reports suggest OT to be a promising drug for psychiatric diseases such as depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, and autism. OT may also have therapeutic potential in the treatment of major depressive disorders, even though OT administered into blood does not readily cross the blood-brain barrier. Physiological functions such as sexual activity and mating induce the release of OT in the central nervous system. A drug for the treatment of sexual dysfunction, sildenafil, enhances the electrically evoked release of OT from the posterior pituitary. This drug has antidepressant-like effects through activation of an OT signaling pathway. These results suggest that sildenafil may have promise as a potential antidepressant.
我们在这里回顾了，催产素（OT）在受到压力和社会刺激时会被释放到血液和特定的大脑区域中，并已在动物研究中显示出抗抑郁作用。临床报告表明，OT 可能成为治疗抑郁症、焦虑症、精神分裂症和自闭症等精神疾病的有前途的药物。OT 对治疗重度抑郁症也可能具有治疗潜力，尽管注入血液的 OT 不易穿过血脑屏障。性活动和交配等生理功能会在中枢神经系统中引发 OT 的释放。一种用于治疗性功能障碍的药物西地那非可增强从垂体后叶电引发的 OT 释放。这种药物通过激活 OT 信号通路产生抗抑郁作用。这些结果表明，西地那非可能有望成为一种潜在的抗抑郁药。
