The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology
- The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology / Volume 15 / Issue 08 / September 2012, pp 1167-1172
- © CINP 2012 The online version of this article is published within an Open Access environment subject to the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike licence <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/>. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use.
- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1461145711001945 (About DOI), Published online: 16 January 2012
- OPEN ACCESS
Brief Report
Serotonin transporter occupancy with TCAs and SSRIs: a PET study in patients with major depressive disorder
Johan Lundberga1 c1, Mikael Tigera1, Mikael Landéna1, Christer Halldina1 and Lars Fardea1
a1 Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
Abstract
The aim of the present clinical positron emission tomography study was to examine if the 5-HTT is a common target, both for tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Serotonin transporter (5-HTT) occupancy was estimated during treatment with TCA, SSRI and mirtazapine in 20 patients in remission from depression. The patients were recruited from out-patient units and deemed as responders to antidepressive treatment. The radioligand [11C]MADAM was used to determine the 5-HTT binding potential. The mean 5-HTT occupancy was 67% (range 28–86%). There was no significant difference in 5-HTT occupancy between TCA (n=5) and SSRI (n=14). 5-HTT affinity correlated with the recommended clinical dose. Mirtazapine did not occupy the serotonin transporter. The results support that TCAs and SSRIs have a shared mechanism of action by inhibition of 5-HTT.
(Received November 13 2011)
(Reviewed December 07 2011)
(Accepted December 07 2011)
(Online publication January 16 2012)
Key Words:
- 5-HTT;
- depression;
- PET;
- SSRI;
- TCA
Correspondence:
c1 Address for correspondence: J. Lundberg, M.D., Building R5, Karolinska University Hospital Solna, S-171 76 Stockholm, Sweden. Tel.: +46 8 517 750 13 Fax: +46 8 517 717 53 Email: johan.lundberg@ki.se
