Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-vfjqv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T07:55:02.148Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Pharmacological interventions in dysthymia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

Y Lecrubier*
Affiliation:
Inserm U302, Hôpital de la Salpêtrière, 47 Bd de l'Hôpital, 75651Paris cedex 13, France
Get access

Summary

The results of early therapeutic trials (1960s and 70s) in mild chronic depression (neurotic patients) are difficult to extrapolate to dysthymia. Most studies conducted in the early 1980s showed reference drugs (TCAs and MAOIs) to be poorly effective in chronic mild depression usually defined with RDC. The most recent trials using DSM-III-R criteria for dysthymic recruitment showed TCAs, new MAOIs (RIMA) and SSRI to be effective. AU these compounds have a rather similar pharmacological mechanism of action. It is therefore of both practical and theoretical interest that amisulpride, a benzamide derivative blocking D2 and D3 pre-synaptic receptors, has been found effective in the treatment of dysthymia in different placebo and reference controlled trials. This result is in line with the pharmacological data on animal ‘anhedonic models’.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Elsevier paris 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Akiskal, HSRosenthal, TLHaykal, RF et al. Characterologic depressions: clinical and sleep EEG findings separating “subaffective dysthymias” from “character spectrum disorders”. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1980; 37:777–83CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boyer, PLecrubier, YPuech, A et al. Treatment of dysthymia with low doses of amisulpride vs amineptine. Clin Neuropharmacol 1992; 15:1B23BCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bronisch, TWittchen, HKrieg, C et al. Depressive neurosis. Acta Psychiatr Scand 1985; 71:237–48CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Davidson, JRTGiller, ELZisook, SOverall, JEAn efficacy study of isocarboxazid and placebo in depression, and its relationship to depressive nosology. Arch Gen Psychiatr 1988; 45:120–7CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Feighner, JPRobins, EGuze, SBWoodruff, RAWinokur, GMunoz, RDiagnostic criteria for use in psychiatric research. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1972; 26:5763CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Golberg, DPLecrubier, YForm and frequency of mental disorders across centres. In: Üstün, TBSartorius, NMental illness in general health care. An international study. New York: John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 1995 323–34Google Scholar
Guyon, AAssouly-Besse, FBiala, GPuech, AJThiebot, MHPotentiation by low doses of selected neuroleptics of food-induced conditioned place preference in rats. Psychopharmacology 1993; 110:460–6CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Keller, MBShapiro, RW“Double depression”: superimposition of acute depressive episodes on chronic depressive disorders. Am J Psychiatr 1982; 139:438–42Google ScholarPubMed
Keller, MBLavori, PWEndicott, J et al. “Double depression”: two-year follow-up. Am J Psychiatr 1983; 140:689–94Google ScholarPubMed
Klein, DFPathophysiology of depressive syndromes. Biol Psychiatry 1974; 8:119–20Google ScholarPubMed
Klein, DFGittelman, RQuitkin, FMRifkin, ADiagnosis and drug treatment of psychiatric disorders: adults and children Ed 2 Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1980Google Scholar
Kocsis, JHFrances, AJMann, JJ et al. Imipramine for the treatment of chronic depression. Psychopharmacol Bull 1985; 21:698700Google ScholarPubMed
Kocsis, JHThase, MEKoran, LHalbreich, UYonkers, KPharmacotherapy of “pure” dysthymia: sertraline vs imipramine and placebo. VIIth ECNP. Jerusalem, Israel: Eds Elsevier, 16–22 October 1994; 204Google Scholar
Lecrubier, YLes différentes mesures. Présentation d’un instrument de mesure clinique. In: Widlöcher, DLe Ralentissement dépressif. Paris: Collection Nodules PUF, 1983; 2640Google Scholar
Lecrubier, YPuech, AJAubin, FBoyer, PDeyrieux, BImprovement by amisulpride of the negative syndrome in non-psychotic subjects. A preliminary study. Psychiatry Psychobiol 1988; 3(5):329–33CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lecrubier, YThymasthenia: clinical and pharmacological aspects. “Psychiatry in the 80s”. Excerpta Medica 1989; 7(3): 56Google Scholar
Lecrubier, YPuech, AJBoyer, PThe Contribution of Neuropharmacology to the Understanding of Ill-Defined Psychological Disorders. In: Sartorius, NGoldberg, Dde Girolamo, GCosta e Silva, JALecrubier, YWittchen, Psychological Disorders in General Medical Settings. New York: Hogrefe & Huber Publishers, 1990;98110Google Scholar
Lecrubier, YBoyer, PPuech, AJAubin, FRein, WAmisulpride versus imipramine and placebo in dysthymia. CINP Nice, France 29 June – 2 July, 1992Google Scholar
Lecrubier, YPedarriosse, AMPayan, C et al. Moclobemide versus clomipramine in nonmelancholic, nonpsychotic major depression. Acta Psychiatr Scand 1995; 92:260–5CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Paykel, ESRowan, PRParker, RR et al. Response to phenelzine and amitriptyline in subtypes of depressed outpatients. Arch Gen Psychiatr 1982; 39:1041–9CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Puech, AJSimon, PBoissier, JRBenzamides and classical neuroleptics: comparison of their actions using 6-apomorphine-induced effects. Eur J Pharmacol 1978; 50:291300CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rounsaville, BJSholomskas, DPrussof, BAChronic mood disorders in depressed outpatients. J Affective Disord 1980; 2:7388CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scatton, BPerrault, GSanger, DJ et al. Pharmacological profile of amisulpride, an atypical neuroleptic which preferentially blocks presynaptic D2/D3 receptors. XIXth CINP congress. Washington DC:Eds Elsevier, June 27–July 1, 1994 242sGoogle Scholar
Schildkraut, JJKlein, DFThe classification and treatment of depressive disorder. In:Shader, RIManual of psychiatric therapeutics. Boston: Little Brown, 1975Google Scholar
Sokoloff, PGrios, BMartres, MP et al. Molecular cloning and characterization of a novel dopamine receptor (D3) as a target for neuroleptics. Nature 1990; 347:146–50CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tyrer, PTowards rational therapy with monoamine oxidase inhibitors. Br J Psychiat 1976; 128:354–60CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Versiani, MPharmacotherapy of dysthymia: a controlled study with Imipramine, Moclobemide or Placebo. Neuropsychopharmacol 1994; 10:298sGoogle Scholar
Weissman, MMKlerman, GLThe chronic depressive in the community: under-recognized and poorly treated. Compr Psychiatr 1977; 18:523–31CrossRefGoogle Scholar
West, EDDally, PJEffect of iproniazide in depressive syndromes. Br Med J 1959; 1:1491–4CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Widlöcher, DAllilaire, JFGuérard des Lauriers, ALecrubier, YL’Amisulpride, neuroleptique et antidéficitaire. Encéphale 1990; XVI:159–63Google Scholar
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.