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The effect of chronic administration of amitriptyline on the effects of subsequent electroconvulsive treatment on responsiveness of α1- and β-adrenoceptors in the rat cortical slices

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Summary

Both antidepressant drugs and repeated electroconvulsive shock (ECS) produce adaptive changes in cerebral neurotransmitter systems. As in the clinical practice ECS is used almost always after therapeutical failure of pharmacotherapy, we investigated presently how chronic administration of an antidepressant amitriptyline affects the action of subsequent multiple ECS in rats. Amitriptyline differed from ECS and from other classical antidepressant in producing no β-downregulation and potentiating the inhibitory effect of protein kinase C activator, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA), on responses of α1-adrenoceptor system to nor adrenaline. The action of ECS on α1-adrenoceptor system remained essentially unaffected by previous amitriptyline administration. Its downregulatory effect on responses of β-adrenoceptor system to nor adrenaline, and particularly to isoproterenol, were attenuated by previous drug treatment. The present results suggest that previous chronic administration of antidepressant drugs may alter the effect of subsequent ECS.

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  1. J. Vetulani

    Present address: Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland

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  1. Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Pharmacology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland

    I. Nalepa

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Vetulani, J., Nalepa, I. The effect of chronic administration of amitriptyline on the effects of subsequent electroconvulsive treatment on responsiveness of α1- and β-adrenoceptors in the rat cortical slices. J. Neural Transmission 103, 363–376 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01271248

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01271248

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