Abstract
The 1950s saw the clinical introduction of the first two specifically antidepressant drugs: iproniazid, a monoamine- oxidase inhibitor that had been used in the treatment of tuberculosis, and imipramine, the first drug in the tricyclic antidepressant family. Iproniazid and imipramine made two fundamental contributions to the development of psychiatry: one of a social-health nature, consisting in an authentic change in the psychiatric care of depressive patients; and the other of a purely pharmacological nature, since these agents have constituted an indispensable research tool for neurobiology and psychopharmacology, permitting, among other things, the postulation of the first aetiopathogenic hypotheses of depressive disorders. The clinical introduction of fluoxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, in the late 1980s, once again revolutionized therapy for depression, opening the way for new families of antidepressants. The present work reviews, from a historical perspective, the entire process that led to the discovery of these drugs, as well as their contribution to the development of the neuroscientific disciplines. However, all of these antidepressants, like the rest of those currently available for clinical practice, share the same action mechanism, which involves the modulation of monoaminergic neurotransmission at a synaptic level, so that the future of antidepressant therapy would seem to revolve around the search for extraneuronal non-aminergic mechanisms or mechanisms that modulate the intraneuronal biochemical pathways.
Keywords: Depression, antidepressants, iproniazid, imipramine, fluoxetine, monoaminergic neurotransmission, history
Current Pharmaceutical Design
Title: Monoaminergic Neurotransmission: The History of the Discovery of Antidepressants from 1950s Until Today
Volume: 15 Issue: 14
Author(s): Francisco Lopez-Munoz and Cecilio Alamo
Affiliation:
Keywords: Depression, antidepressants, iproniazid, imipramine, fluoxetine, monoaminergic neurotransmission, history
Abstract: The 1950s saw the clinical introduction of the first two specifically antidepressant drugs: iproniazid, a monoamine- oxidase inhibitor that had been used in the treatment of tuberculosis, and imipramine, the first drug in the tricyclic antidepressant family. Iproniazid and imipramine made two fundamental contributions to the development of psychiatry: one of a social-health nature, consisting in an authentic change in the psychiatric care of depressive patients; and the other of a purely pharmacological nature, since these agents have constituted an indispensable research tool for neurobiology and psychopharmacology, permitting, among other things, the postulation of the first aetiopathogenic hypotheses of depressive disorders. The clinical introduction of fluoxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, in the late 1980s, once again revolutionized therapy for depression, opening the way for new families of antidepressants. The present work reviews, from a historical perspective, the entire process that led to the discovery of these drugs, as well as their contribution to the development of the neuroscientific disciplines. However, all of these antidepressants, like the rest of those currently available for clinical practice, share the same action mechanism, which involves the modulation of monoaminergic neurotransmission at a synaptic level, so that the future of antidepressant therapy would seem to revolve around the search for extraneuronal non-aminergic mechanisms or mechanisms that modulate the intraneuronal biochemical pathways.
Export Options
About this article
Cite this article as:
Lopez-Munoz Francisco and Alamo Cecilio, Monoaminergic Neurotransmission: The History of the Discovery of Antidepressants from 1950s Until Today, Current Pharmaceutical Design 2009; 15 (14) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/138161209788168001
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/138161209788168001 |
Print ISSN 1381-6128 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1873-4286 |
Call for Papers in Thematic Issues
"Tuberculosis Prevention, Diagnosis and Drug Discovery"
The Nobel Prize-winning discoveries of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and streptomycin have enabled an appropriate diagnosis and an effective treatment of tuberculosis (TB). Since then, many newer diagnosis methods and drugs have been saving millions of lives. Despite advances in the past, TB is still a leading cause of infectious disease mortality ...read more
Current Pharmaceutical challenges in the treatment and diagnosis of neurological dysfunctions
Neurological dysfunctions (MND, ALS, MS, PD, AD, HD, ALS, Autism, OCD etc..) present significant challenges in both diagnosis and treatment, often necessitating innovative approaches and therapeutic interventions. This thematic issue aims to explore the current pharmaceutical landscape surrounding neurological disorders, shedding light on the challenges faced by researchers, clinicians, and ...read more
Emerging and re-emerging diseases
Faced with a possible endemic situation of COVID-19, the world has experienced two important phenomena, the emergence of new infectious diseases and/or the resurgence of previously eradicated infectious diseases. Furthermore, the geographic distribution of such diseases has also undergone changes. This context, in turn, may have a strong relationship with ...read more
Melanoma and Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer Treatment: Standard of Care and Recent Advances
In this thematic issue, we aim to provide a standard of care of the diagnosis and treatment of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer. The editor will invite authors from different countries who will write review articles of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers. The Diagnosis, Staging, Surgical Treatment, Non-Surgical Treatment all ...read more
- Author Guidelines
- Graphical Abstracts
- Fabricating and Stating False Information
- Research Misconduct
- Post Publication Discussions and Corrections
- Publishing Ethics and Rectitude
- Increase Visibility of Your Article
- Archiving Policies
- Peer Review Workflow
- Order Your Article Before Print
- Promote Your Article
- Manuscript Transfer Facility
- Editorial Policies
- Allegations from Whistleblowers
- Announcements
Related Articles
-
Microbiome Regulation of Autoimmune, Gut and Liver Associated Diseases
Inflammation & Allergy - Drug Targets (Discontinued) Tuberculosis Deaths Among Populations with High HIV Prevalence
Current Respiratory Medicine Reviews Preface [Hot Topic: Antimycobacterial Drugs: Current Status and Future Prospects (Executive Editor: Haruaki Tomioka)]
Current Pharmaceutical Design Advances in the Synthesis of Calystegines and Related Products and their Biochemical Properties
Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry CuAAC Click Chemistry Accelerates the Discovery of Novel Chemical Scaffolds as Promising Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases Inhibitors
Current Medicinal Chemistry Impairment of T Cell Immunity by the Respiratory Syncytial Virus: Targeting Virulence Mechanisms for Therapy and Prophylaxis
Current Medicinal Chemistry 1, 4-Dihydropyridines: A Class of Pharmacologically Important Molecules
Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry Advances of Inorganic Materials in the Detection and Therapeutic Uses against Coronaviruses
Current Medicinal Chemistry Association of Serum Malondialdehyde and C-reactive Protein Levels with Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Current Respiratory Medicine Reviews The FDG-PET Revolution of Medical Imaging – Four Decades and Beyond
Current Molecular Imaging (Discontinued) Kinase Targets for Mycolic Acid Biosynthesis in Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Current Molecular Pharmacology Syphilis: An Epidemiological Review
Current Women`s Health Reviews Immune Response Towards Snake Venoms
Inflammation & Allergy - Drug Targets (Discontinued) Cyanide Detoxifying Enzyme: Rhodanese
Current Biotechnology Novel, Unifying Phagomimetic Mechanism of Vancomycin Therapeutic Action and Toxicity: Polyphenol, Electron Transfer and Reactive Oxygen Species
Anti-Infective Agents in Medicinal Chemistry QSAR Multi-Target in Drug Discovery: A Review
Current Computer-Aided Drug Design Slow-Onset Inhibition of 2-trans-Enoyl-ACP (CoA) Reductase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis by an Inorganic Complex
Current Pharmaceutical Design G-quadruplex DNA Aptamers and their Ligands: Structure, Function and Application
Current Pharmaceutical Design A Review of Flavonoids from Cassia Species and their Biological Activity
Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology “Nano-Biomaterials” – A New Approach Concerning Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB)
Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology