Animal studies have shown that duloxetine is a dual inhibitor of norepinephrine (NE) and serotonin (5-HT) reuptake. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of duloxetine on the 5-HT and NE reuptake processes in healthy human volunteers. Twenty-seven healthy young males were randomly assigned to one of four groups, receiving one of the following daily drug regimens: placebo, clomipramine (a potent 5-HT/NE reuptake blocker) 100 mg/day, duloxetine 20 mg/day, or duloxetine 60 mg/day. In order to assess the NE reuptake process, the pressor response to intravenous tyramine was measured. Determination of the whole blood 5-HT content was used to evaluate the 5-HT reuptake blockade. These measurements were performed at baseline and repeated after 7 and 14 days of drug intake. Both duloxetine, at doses of 20 to 60 mg/day, and clomipramine significantly interfered with the 5-HT reuptake process, as demonstrated by marked decreases in blood 5-HT concentrations. However, the same doses of duloxetine, unlike clomipramine, failed to impede the usual increase in blood pressure that follows a tyramine intravenous infusion, indicating that clomipramine, but not duloxetine, blocked the NE reuptake process. At doses tested in healthy volunteers, duloxetine acted as a selective 5-HT reuptake inhibitor, having no clear effect on the NE reuptake process
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.31550 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Creators | Turcotte, Julie. |
| Contributors | Blier, Pierre (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Neurobiological Psychiatry Unit.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001803827, proquestno: MQ70517, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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