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Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of... May 2024Mirtazapine (MTZ) is an antidepressant drug with an exceptional pharmacological profile. It also has an excellent safety and tolerability profile. The present review... (Review)
Review
Mirtazapine (MTZ) is an antidepressant drug with an exceptional pharmacological profile. It also has an excellent safety and tolerability profile. The present review provides a pharmacological update on MTZ and summarizes the research findings of MTZ's effects on different diseases. MTZ is hypothesized to have antidepressant effects because of the synergy between noradrenergic and serotonergic actions and is effective in treating major depressive disorder and depression associated with epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, stroke, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory disease. In cancer patients, MTZ significantly reduced sadness, nausea, sleep disruption, and pain and improved quality of life. Also, it has promising effects on Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, dysthymia, social anxiety disorder, alcohol dependency, posttraumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, pain syndromes, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and sleep disorders. Additionally, MTZ is potentially therapeutic in different situations associated with depression, such as liver, kidney, cardiovascular, respiratory, infertility, heavy metal-induced neurotoxicity, and pruritus. Potent antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic bioactivities mediate these promising effects. These positive outcomes of the scientific investigations motivate more and more clinical trials for a golden exceptional antidepressant in different conditions.
Topics: Humans; Mirtazapine; Animals; Antidepressive Agents; Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic
PubMed: 37943296
DOI: 10.1007/s00210-023-02818-6 -
Health Technology Assessment... Oct 2023Agitation is common and impacts negatively on people with dementia and carers. Non-drug patient-centred care is first-line treatment, but we need other treatment when... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
A pragmatic, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled randomised trial to assess the safety, clinical and cost-effectiveness of mirtazapine and carbamazepine in people with Alzheimer's disease and agitated behaviours: the HTA-SYMBAD trial.
BACKGROUND
Agitation is common and impacts negatively on people with dementia and carers. Non-drug patient-centred care is first-line treatment, but we need other treatment when this fails. Current evidence is sparse on safer and effective alternatives to antipsychotics.
OBJECTIVES
To assess clinical and cost-effectiveness and safety of mirtazapine and carbamazepine in treating agitation in dementia.
DESIGN
Pragmatic, phase III, multicentre, double-blind, superiority, randomised, placebo-controlled trial of the clinical effectiveness of mirtazapine over 12 weeks (carbamazepine arm discontinued).
SETTING
Twenty-six UK secondary care centres.
PARTICIPANTS
probable or possible Alzheimer's disease, agitation unresponsive to non-drug treatment, Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory score ≥ 45.
INTERVENTIONS
Mirtazapine (target 45 mg), carbamazepine (target 300 mg) and placebo.
OUTCOME MEASURES
Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory score 12 weeks post randomisation. incremental cost per six-point difference in Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory score at 12 weeks, from health and social care system perspective. Data from participants and informants at baseline, 6 and 12 weeks. Long-term follow-up Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory data collected by telephone from informants at 6 and 12 months.
RANDOMISATION AND BLINDING
Participants allocated 1 : 1 : 1 ratio (to discontinuation of the carbamazepine arm, 1 : 1 thereafter) to receive placebo or carbamazepine or mirtazapine, with treatment as usual. Random allocation was block stratified by centre and residence type with random block lengths of three or six (after discontinuation of carbamazepine, two or four). Double-blind, with drug and placebo identically encapsulated. Referring clinicians, participants, trial management team and research workers who did assessments were masked to group allocation.
RESULTS
Two hundred and forty-four participants recruited and randomised (102 mirtazapine, 102 placebo, 40 carbamazepine). The carbamazepine arm was discontinued due to slow overall recruitment; carbamazepine/placebo analyses are therefore statistically underpowered and not detailed in the abstract. placebo-mirtazapine (-1.74, 95% confidence interval -7.17 to 3.69; = 0.53). The number of controls with adverse events (65/102, 64%) was similar to the mirtazapine group (67/102, 66%). However, there were more deaths in the mirtazapine group ( = 7) by week 16 than in the control group ( = 1). Post hoc analysis suggests this was of marginal statistical significance ( = 0.065); this difference did not persist at 6- and 12-month assessments. At 12 weeks, the costs of unpaid care by the dyadic carer were significantly higher in the mirtazapine than placebo group [difference: £1120 (95% confidence interval £56 to £2184)]. In the cost-effectiveness analyses, mean raw and adjusted outcome scores and costs of the complete cases samples showed no differences between groups.
LIMITATIONS
Our study has four important potential limitations: (1) we dropped the proposed carbamazepine group; (2) the trial was not powered to investigate a mortality difference between the groups; (3) recruitment beyond February 2020, was constrained by the COVID-19 pandemic; and (4) generalisability is limited by recruitment of participants from old-age psychiatry services and care homes.
CONCLUSIONS
The data suggest mirtazapine is not clinically or cost-effective (compared to placebo) for agitation in dementia. There is little reason to recommend mirtazapine for people with dementia with agitation.
FUTURE WORK
Effective and cost-effective management strategies for agitation in dementia are needed where non-pharmacological approaches are unsuccessful.
STUDY REGISTRATION
This trial is registered as ISRCTN17411897/NCT03031184.
FUNDING
This project was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme and will be published in full in ; Vol. 27, No. 23. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.
Topics: Humans; Alzheimer Disease; Carbamazepine; Cost-Benefit Analysis; Mirtazapine; Pandemics; Quality of Life; Technology Assessment, Biomedical
PubMed: 37929672
DOI: 10.3310/VPDT7105 -
The Journal of Dermatological Treatment Dec 2023Chronic pruritus is frequently seen in daily dermatological practice and is associated with marked impact on quality of life. Research on the use of gabapentin and oral... (Observational Study)
Observational Study
BACKGROUND
Chronic pruritus is frequently seen in daily dermatological practice and is associated with marked impact on quality of life. Research on the use of gabapentin and oral antidepressants in daily dermatological practice is scarce.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of gabapentin and oral antidepressants in patients with chronic pruritus in daily clinical practice.
METHODS
A prospective observational single-center cohort study was conducted including adult patients with chronic pruritus and an indication for systemic treatment between June 2016 and May 2019.
RESULTS
Systemic treatment with gabapentin and/or antidepressants was initiated in 31 patients with severe chronic pruritus (median average pruritus NRS score 7.0), in which most cases no underlying origin was identified (83.9%). In patients treated with gabapentin 900-1800 mg/day ( = 25), median average pruritus NRS decreased to 5.5 (IQR 3.0) after 4 weeks and remained stable up to 24 weeks of treatment. Efficacy of antidepressants was variable, with the highest response after initiation of amitriptyline, nortriptyline, and mirtazapine. Side effects were frequently observed in both gabapentin and antidepressant treatments; however, were mostly mild and temporary.
LIMITATIONS
This was a single-site observational study, with limited sample size.
CONCLUSION
Treatment with gabapentin and antidepressants should be considered in patients with chronic pruritus unresponsive to conventional treatment.
Topics: Adult; Humans; Gabapentin; Cohort Studies; Prospective Studies; Quality of Life; Antidepressive Agents; Pruritus; Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; Cyclohexanecarboxylic Acids; Amines
PubMed: 37905412
DOI: 10.1080/09546634.2023.2274291 -
Frontiers in Pharmacology 2023We aimed to systematically evaluate the prevalence and clinical characteristics of adverse events associated with the adaptogens and antidepressant drug interactions in...
We aimed to systematically evaluate the prevalence and clinical characteristics of adverse events associated with the adaptogens and antidepressant drug interactions in a retrospective chart review. A total of 1,816 reports of adverse events were evaluated. Cases were included in the analysis if the pharmacoepidemiological analysis showed the presence of a high probability of a causal relationship between an adaptogen and antidepressant interaction and the occurrence of adverse events. The following data were extracted from the reports: age, sex, antidepressant, plant products containing adaptogens, other concomitant medications, and clinical consequences of the interactions and their possible mechanisms. Adaptogens were involved in 9% of adverse events associated with the concomitant use of antidepressants and other preparations. We identified 30 reports in which side effects presented a causal relationship with the use of antidepressants and adaptogens. Here, we present the list of adaptogens with the corresponding antidepressants and the side effects caused by their interactions: : reboxetine (testicle pain and ejaculatory dysfunctions), sertraline (severe diarrhea), escitalopram (myalgia, epigastric pain, nausea, vomiting, restless legs syndrome, and severe cough), and paroxetine (generalized myalgia, ophthalmalgia, and ocular hypertension); : duloxetine (upper gastrointestinal bleeding), paroxetine (epistaxis), sertraline (vaginal hemorrhage), and agomelatine (irritability, agitation, headache, and dizziness); : bupropion (arthralgia and thrombocytopenia), amitriptyline (delirium), and fluoxetine (dysuria); : citalopram (generalized pruritus), escitalopram (galactorrhea), and trazodone (psoriasis relapse); : mianserin (arrhythmias), mirtazapine (edema of lower limbs and myalgia), and fluoxetine (gynecomastia); : mianserin (restless legs syndrome), paroxetine (gynecomastia and mastalgia), and venlafaxine (hyponatremia); : agomelatine (back pain and hyperhidrosis) and moclobemide (myocardial infarction); : duloxetine (back pain); : sertraline (upper gastrointestinal bleeding); : mianserin (restless legs syndrome); and : bupropion (seizures). Clinicians should monitor the adverse events associated with the concomitant use of adaptogens and antidepressant drugs in patients with mental disorders. Aggregation of side effects and pharmacokinetic interactions (inhibition of CYP and p-glycoprotein) between those medicines may result in clinically significant adverse events.
PubMed: 37829299
DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1271776 -
Nature Communications Oct 2023Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) is a common vasospastic disorder that causes severe pain and ulcers, but despite its high reported heritability, no causal genes have been...
Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) is a common vasospastic disorder that causes severe pain and ulcers, but despite its high reported heritability, no causal genes have been robustly identified. We conducted a genome-wide association study including 5,147 RP cases and 439,294 controls, based on diagnoses from electronic health records, and identified three unreported genomic regions associated with the risk of RP (p < 5 × 10). We prioritized ADRA2A (rs7090046, odds ratio (OR) per allele: 1.26; 95%-CI: 1.20-1.31; p < 9.6 × 10) and IRX1 (rs12653958, OR: 1.17; 95%-CI: 1.12-1.22, p < 4.8 × 10) as candidate causal genes through integration of gene expression in disease relevant tissues. We further identified a likely causal detrimental effect of low fasting glucose levels on RP risk (r = -0.21; p-value = 2.3 × 10), and systematically highlighted drug repurposing opportunities, like the antidepressant mirtazapine. Our results provide the first robust evidence for a strong genetic contribution to RP and highlight a so far underrated role of α-adrenoreceptor signalling, encoded at ADRA2A, as a possible mechanism for hypersensitivity to catecholamine-induced vasospasms.
Topics: Humans; Genome-Wide Association Study; Ulcer; Raynaud Disease; Pain; Transcription Factors; Homeodomain Proteins; Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha-2
PubMed: 37828025
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41876-5 -
Arquivos de Gastroenterologia 2023•The rate and severity of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) has increased throughout North America, the United Kingdom, and Europe. •Scattered evidence about...
•The rate and severity of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) has increased throughout North America, the United Kingdom, and Europe. •Scattered evidence about the association of CDI with antidepressant medications use exists in the literature so far. What are the new findings: •The risk of Clostridioides difficile infection is higher in patients who are on mirtazapine, nortriptyline, or trazodone. •The prevalence rate of Clostridioides difficile infection in patients who were using antidepressant medications and the ones who did not, increased with age. Background - During the past decade, Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) has become the most common cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Several risk factors have been implicated. Scattered evidence about the association of CDI with antidepressant medications use exists in the literature so far. Therefore, we aim to investigate whether the risk of developing CDI is increased in hospitalized patients using antidepressant medications.Methods - Patients who were hospitalized were included in our cohort. We excluded individuals aged less than 18 years. A multivariate regression analysis was performed to calculate the risk of CDI accounting for potential confounders. Results - The risk of CDI in hospitalized patients was increased in individuals diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (OR: 4.44; 95%CI: 4.35-4.52), and in patients using clindamycin (OR: 1.55; 95%CI: 1.53-1.57), beta-lactam antibiotics (OR: 1.62; 95%CI: 1.60-1.64), PPI (OR: 3.27; 95%CI: 3.23-3.30), trazodone (OR: 1.31; 95%CI: 1.29-1.33), nortriptyline (OR: 1.25; 95%CI: 1.21-1.28), and mirtazapine (OR: 2.50; 95%CI: 2.46-2.54). After controlling for covariates, the risk of CDI was not increased in patients who were taking fluoxetine (OR: 0.94; 95%CI: 0.92-0.96). Conclusion - In contrary to fluoxetine; mirtazapine, nortriptyline, and trazodone were associated with increased risk of CDI in hospitalized patients.
Topics: Humans; Mirtazapine; Trazodone; Nortriptyline; Fluoxetine; Clostridioides difficile; Clostridium Infections; Antidepressive Agents; Hospitals
PubMed: 37792759
DOI: 10.1590/S0004-2803.230302023-21 -
Membranes Sep 2023High levels of oxidative stress are implicated in hypoxia, a physiological response to low levels of oxygen. Evidence supports a connection between this response and...
High levels of oxidative stress are implicated in hypoxia, a physiological response to low levels of oxygen. Evidence supports a connection between this response and depression. Previous studies indicate that tryptophan hydroxylase can be negatively affected in hypoxia, impairing serotonin synthesis and downstream pathways. Some studies also hypothesize that increasing hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) levels may be a new therapeutic modality for depression. Hence, this study delved into the influence of hypoxia on the cellular response to drugs designed to act in depression. By the induction of hypoxia in SH-SY5Y cells through a hypoxia incubator chamber or Cobalt Chloride treatment, the effect of Mirtazapine, an antidepressant, and other drugs that interact with serotonin receptors (TCB-2, Dextromethorphan, Ketamine, Quetiapine, Scopolamine, Celecoxib, and Lamotrigine) on SH-SY5Y cellular viability and morphology was explored. The selection of drugs was initially conducted by literature search, focusing on compounds with established potential for employment in depression therapy. Subsequently, we employed in silico approaches to forecast their ability to traverse the blood-brain barrier (BBB). This step was particularly pertinent as we aimed to assess their viability for inducing potential antidepressant effects. The effect of these drugs in hypoxia under the inhibition of HIF-1 by Echinomycin was also tested. Our results revealed that all the potential repurposed drugs promoted cell viability, especially when hypoxia was chemically induced. When combined with Echinomycin, all drugs decreased cellular viability, possibly by the inability to interact with HIF-1.
PubMed: 37755222
DOI: 10.3390/membranes13090800 -
Cureus Aug 2023HIV-negative progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) has a poor prognosis due to a lack of standard treatment. Herein, we report a patient with HIV-negative PML...
HIV-negative progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) has a poor prognosis due to a lack of standard treatment. Herein, we report a patient with HIV-negative PML which occurred after the treatment for classical Hodgkin's lymphoma (CHL). A 71-year-old male patient was admitted to our hospital due to various neurological symptoms, including memory disturbance, dysgraphia, ataxia, and ideomotor apraxia, at 16 months after high-dose salvage chemotherapy with autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT) for primary treatment-refractory CHL. The patient's blood and serological examination results were mainly normal, including CD4-positive T lymphocyte count and serum immunoglobulin levels. T2-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion recovery MRI showed high-intensity lesions from the left occipital lobe to the corpus callosum. Moreover, the rapid intraoperative pathological assessment of biopsy specimens obtained from abnormal brain lesions suggested brain relapse of CHL. The patient's symptoms progressed rapidly; therefore, treatment with high-dose methotrexate was started, which significantly improved the patient's symptoms and MRI findings within a week. However, further examinations of the biopsy specimens with in situ hybridization and immunohistochemical examinations showed reactivation of the John Cunningham virus (JCV) in the astrocytes. Further, cells initially believed to be Hodgkin cells based on the rapid intraoperative pathological assessment were found to be destructive astrocytes, thereby confirming the diagnosis of PML. The patient was then successfully treated with combined mefloquine and mirtazapine and did not have any fatal outcomes. Based on this case, a differential diagnosis of PML from CNS involvement of CHL is important even in cases without evident biomarkers for immunodeficiency. Moreover, methotrexate was likely to be effective in improving neurological symptoms by decreasing brain parenchyma inflammation in the acute phase in this particular patient.
PubMed: 37746351
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.44000 -
Cureus Aug 2023Public health efforts to reduce the opioid overdose epidemic and treat opioid use disorder (OUD) have met with challenges associated with current non-standardized... (Review)
Review
Public health efforts to reduce the opioid overdose epidemic and treat opioid use disorder (OUD) have met with challenges associated with current non-standardized approaches to managing opioid withdrawal symptoms, such as itching, jitteriness, anxiety, depression, craving, vomiting, diarrhea, insomnia, and anorexia. These symptoms pose substantial obstacles to the safe initiation of medications for OUD, maintenance of long-term sobriety, and prevention of relapse. In clinical practice, multiple medications (polypharmacy) are prescribed to manage these withdrawal symptoms, including ondansetron and promethazine for vomiting and nausea, loperamide and Lomotil for diarrhea, hydroxyzine and doxepin for pruritus, benzodiazepines, the Z-drugs, and melatonin for insomnia, and benzos, tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), and various serotonergic agents for anxiety. This polypharmacy is associated with an increased risk of adverse drug-drug interactions and adverse drug events, increased medical costs, and increased odds of medication non-adherence and relapse. We propose an alternative single medication, mirtazapine, a noradrenergic and specific serotonergic receptor antagonist, that can be used for myriad symptoms of opioid withdrawal. Case series, clinical studies, and clinical trials have shown mirtazapine to be effective for treating nausea and vomiting resulting from multiple etiologies, including hyperemesis gravidarum and chemotherapy-induced emesis. Other evidence supports the salutary effects of mirtazapine on itching and craving. Research findings support mirtazapine's beneficial effects on diarrhea and anxiety, a consequence of its modulating effects on serotonergic receptors mediating mood and gastrointestinal symptoms. There is also evidence supporting its efficacy as a potent and non-addictive sleep aid, which presents itself as a solution for insomnia associated with opioid withdrawal. The current review presents evidence from extant literature supporting mirtazapine as a one-drug strategy to treat the variety of symptoms of opioid withdrawal. This one-drug strategy has much potential to decrease polypharmacy, adverse drug events, relapse, and healthcare cost and increase the likelihood of prolonged sobriety and better quality of life for people living with OUD.
PubMed: 37736438
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.43821 -
Biological & Pharmaceutical Bulletin Nov 2023The involvement of serotonin (5-HT) and/or noradrenaline in acute pruriceptive processing in the central nervous system (CNS) has been reported using antidepressants,...
The involvement of serotonin (5-HT) and/or noradrenaline in acute pruriceptive processing in the central nervous system (CNS) has been reported using antidepressants, such as milnacipran, a serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor, and mirtazapine, a noradrenergic and specific serotonergic antidepressant; however, the roles of 5-HT receptor family in acute pruriceptive processing have not been fully elucidated in the CNS. In the present study, scratching behavior induced by chloroquine (CQ) was ameliorated by milnacipran or mirtazapine, and these effects were reversed by SB207266, a 5-HT antagonist, or SB258585, a 5-HT antagonist, but not by SB258585, a 5-HT antagonist. Moreover, CQ-induced scratches were mitigated by intrathecal injection of 5-HT agonists, such as BIMU8 and ML10302, and the 5-HT agonist, WAY208466. Conversely, histamine-induced scratches were not affected by the 5-HT agonists or a 5-HT agonist. Similarly, the amelioration of histamine-induced scratches by these antidepressants was not reversed by the 5-HT, 5-HT, or 5-HT receptor antagonist. Therefore, 5-HT is involved in the amelioration of CQ-induced scratches by milnacipran and mirtazapine, and 5-HT, 5-HT, and 5-HT receptors play differential roles in acute pruriceptive processing after administration of CQ or histamine.
Topics: Mice; Animals; Serotonin; Histamine; Mirtazapine; Antidepressive Agents; Milnacipran; Norepinephrine
PubMed: 37722878
DOI: 10.1248/bpb.b23-00445