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Antidepressants
From Qedoc
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This page describes a Qedoc learning module or quiz entitled "Antidepressants". You can download the module from this page to put on your computer. You can also launch the module straight off the web using the launch quiz link on the right-hand side of this page. Another way to access this quiz is to install the Qedoc Quiz Player and bring up its directory of downloadable quizzes. Whichever way you choose to use it, it's free.
This module may contain medicine-related material. Please refer to our medical disclaimer.
Contents |
Description
Definition of depressive illness, aetiology, epidemiology and classification of depressive illnesses. Biochemical basis of depression, particularly the involvement of noradrenaline and 5-HT. Rational options for the drug treatment of depressive illness (monoamine precursors, inhibitors of monoamine oxidase and monoamine uptake, receptor agonists, modifiers of post receptor events). Recent and future developments in antidepressants - need for new drugs. Assessment of diagnostic markers for depressive illness and its effective treatment.
The module contains the following activities:
- Side Effects
- Symptoms
- Drugs
- Introduction
- Treatment
- Monoamine Uptake Inhibitors
- Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors
- Monoamine Precursors
- Monoamine Receptor Agonists
- Clinical Uses
Sample questions
The following is a short sample of the questions in this module and may help to better assess the level, topic and suitability of the material for your purposes. Images are omitted and the questions may not make complete sense without the context of the interactive answer activities which follow them in the module. To best preview this module, click the launch link at the top right of this page.
- Direct biochemical effects of antidepressant drugs appear very rapidly, whereas their antidepressant effects take weeks to develop. A similar situation exists in relation to antipsychotic drugs and some anxiolytic drugs, suggesting that the secondary, adaptive changes in the brain, rather than the primary drug effect, are responsible for the clinical improvement.
- CRH mimics some effects of depression in humans, such as diminished activity, loss of appetite, and increased signs of anxiety. Furthermore, CRH concentrations in the brain and cerebrospinal fluid of depressed patients are increased. Therefore CRH hyperfunction, as well as monoamine hypofunction, may be associated with depression
- Supplying a transmitter precursor will not necessarily increase the release of transmitter unless availability of the precursor is rate-limiting. Similarly, a drug that releases monoamines from normal nerve terminals may fail to do so if the nerve terminals are functionally defective.
- Tricyclic antidepressants potentiate the effects of alcohol and anesthetic agents. TCAs also interfere with the action of various antihypertensive drugs with potentially dangerous consequences, so their use in hypertensive patients requires close monitoring.
- Receptor down-regulation probably occurs in humans, because endocrine responses to clonidine, an α2-adrenoceptor agonist, are reduced by long-term antidepressant treatment. 5-HT2-receptors and β1-adrenoceptors are also down-regulated.
- Acute lithium toxicity results in various neurological effects, progressing from confusion and motor impairment to coma, convulsions and death if the plasma concentration reaches 3-5 mmol/l.
- Agents known to block noradrenaline or 5-HT synthesis consistently reverse the therapeutic effects of antidepressant drugs that act selectively on these two transmitter systems
- Venlafaxine (somewhat selective for serotonin, although less so than selective serotonin uptake inhibitors) and duloxetine have fewer side effects than TCAs.
- Atropine-like side effects (dry mouth, blurred vision, urinary retention, etc.) are common with MAOIs, although they are less of a problem than with TCAs.
- Name the two regions where antidepressant drugs, or other treatments such as electroconvulsions, promote neurogenesis, and restore functional activity.
Screenshots
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How to use this module
To use a Qedoc learning module, the following procedure is recommended:
- Really easy: click the click here to launch hyperlink at the top right of the page. Then just wait and click your way (if necessary) through any dialogue screens. The module will launch straight off the web.
- Fairly easy: if you wish to have the module downloaded to your desktop, then start the Qedoc Quiz Player (which you can download and install on your computer if you haven't done so yet) and run through the starting dialogues until it presents you with a list of modules to load. Switch to the online learning modules tab, and the Qedoc Quiz Player will download a list of currently published modules from the web. Choose your desired module (this one) from the list. A local copy will then be kept on your computer for future use.
- Not so easy: click the download link at the bottom of the "quick facts" box and the module's ZIP file will download to your desktop. To actually use this, however, you must move it to the /player/modplay subdirectory of whichever directory the Qedoc software is installed in (usually /programme files/qedoc).
How to edit this module
You are permitted to edit this module - for example, to correct mistakes, extend it, or incorporate material from it into new modules or other educational resources. To find out how, please read How to edit a module.
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