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Effects of trazodone treatment on alpha-2 adrenoceptor function in depressed patients

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Abstract

Tricyclic antidepressant drugs reduce the sensitivity of α2 adrenoceptors during long-term treatment. In the present study, the α2 adrenergic agonist clonidine was administered to 11 depressed patients before and during treatment with the triazolopyridine antidepressant trazodone (TRZ). Clonidine's ability to decrease blood pressure (BP) and plasma levels of the norepinephrine metabolite 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethyleneglycol (MHPG), and to increase sedation and plasma growth hormone (GH), were measured. TRZ had little effect on these indices of pre- and postsynaptic α2 receptor function, suggesting that the antidepressant properties of TRZ are not related to changes in α2 adrenoceptor sensitivity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, Yale, USA

    Lawrence H. Price, Dennis S. Charney & George R. Heninger

  2. Ribicoff Research Facilities, The Connecticut Mental Health Center, 34 Park Street, 06508, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

    Lawrence H. Price, Dennis S. Charney & George R. Heninger

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  1. Lawrence H. Price
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  2. Dennis S. Charney
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  3. George R. Heninger
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Price, L.H., Charney, D.S. & Heninger, G.R. Effects of trazodone treatment on alpha-2 adrenoceptor function in depressed patients. Psychopharmacology 89, 38–44 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00175186

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00175186

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