Pharmacology of new antidepressants.

In this review, an attempt has been made to show how the tricyclic and non-tricyclic ("second generation") antidepressants, while differing widely in their acute pharmacological profiles, have a similar effect on central neurotransmission following their chronic administration. Animal models of depression and studies in depressed patients emphasize the importance of adrenergic receptor malfunction in the aetiology of the disease. Experimental and clinical studies suggest that all chronically administered antidepressants, irrespective of their acute pharmacological profile, can normalize central noradrenergic receptor function. Such a hypothesis helps to explain the slow duration in onset of the antidepressant effect and similar therapeutic efficacy of all forms of treatment.