Tricyclic Antidepressants - mechanism - indications - side/adverse effects- anti depressant drugs

Tricyclic Antidepressants:

Tricyclic antidepressants inhibit the retake of both serotonin and nor epinephrine. TCAs also block alpha adrenergic receptors, serotonergic, histaminic, muscarinic receptors. And blockage of these receptors is the cause of a big profile of side effects.

TCAs include the following drugs:

1)    Tertiary amines:

Ø     Imipramine

Ø     Amitriptyline

Ø     Clomipramine

Ø     Doxepin

Ø     Trimipramine

2)    Secondary amines:

Ø     Desipramine

Ø     Nortriptyline

3)    Tetra cyclic antidepressants:

Ø     Maprotiline

Ø     Amoxapine

Indications:

ü     Moderate to Severe Depression

ü     Panic disorder

ü     Imipramine is used to control bed-wetting in children of more than 6 years of age

ü     Amitriptyline has been used to treat migraine headache and chronic pain syndromes (e.g. naturopathic pains) and when the cause of pain is not clear.

Adverse Effects:

Adverse effects are because of unwanted effects of TCAs on alpha-adrenergic and cholinergic histaminic receptors. TCAs block these receptors.

Following are the common adverse effects of TCAs:

    Dry mouth

    Constipation

    Urinary retention

    Blurred vision

    Tachycardia

    Arrhythmias

    Nausea

    Drowsiness.

    Weight gain