Can Seroquel act as an antidepressant?

[Smoky]

Yeah, it really came in handy for emergencies… Took me down from a trip easier too than I normally would have come down from…

 

[paranoid android]

paranoid_android: Am I guessing right? Or can you tell?

NRIs aren't even antidepressant or we'd just prescribe Strattera, which is more selective for NET than quetiapine and has correspondingly way fewer side-effects. (Intuition speaking) SNRIs are popular because NET inhibition offsets the side-effects of SERT inhibition, not because of an antidepressant effect of norepinephrine.

(actually, IIRC higher norepinephrine levels are actually correlated with depression)

I have heard that both Atomoxetine and Reboxetine are both shit at treating depression or anything else for that matter. I guess the Norepinephrine reuptake inhibition has nothing to do with Bupropion's anti-depressant properties or of some of the Tricyclics that are more potent Norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors such as Desipramine then? I have taken Bupropion at the same time as i was taking Amitriptyline as well as Trimipramine and even though both Amitriptyline and Trimipramine act as Norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors as well as Serotonin reuptake inhibitors i didn't notice any negative effects such as increased depression. Then again these drugs have other properties as well and with the tricyclics Alpha-1-antagonism plus i was also taking Quetiapine and Lamotrigine which may have blunted any side effects.

In my experience Quetiapine and most other anti-psychotics work well for the type of depression where you get stuck in bad thought loops that you can't get out of. This is especially common in agitated depression and mixed states. When i get episodes like that even old and dirty typical anti-psychotics like Chlorpromazine and Methotrimeprazine help improve my mood. This is probably because at that point sedation provides some relief. I do find that Chlorpromazine does work abit on my depression as well. It does effect Serotonin as well as Dopamine and has a1-adrenergic antagonist properties. I actually find Chlorpromazine to be more tolerable and have less side effects then the atypical anti-psychotic Risperidone and even Seroquel as it doesn't give me bad hypotension in the morning like Quetiapine does. Too bad most docs i know only prescribe it for severe nausea and vomiting as they consider it a old drug that is worse then the atypical's for causing TD and other movement disorders despite the fact that the much prescribed Risperidone has just as high of a risk if not more so then Perphenazine a medium potency typical anti-psychotic of causing TD and other movement disorders.

 

[Dresden]

Yes, in fact Seroquel is a better antidepressant than are SSRIs, which are less useful than placebo.

 

[sekio]

SSRIs are only worse than placebo in non-severe non-chronic depression. People generally respond to them in severe cases.

 

[MyDoorsAreOpen]

The short answer is yes, quetiapine can help as an adjunct with depression. But I think this is an indirect effect of its ability to enhance sleep quality (anticholinergic), and keep one from being motivated enough to act on compulsive urges to overreact, or binge unhealthily on pleasurable things to try to relieve the depression (DA blockade). The depressed patients I've seen benefit from and like quetiapine are the ones whose depression is a more neurotic and anxiety-ridden flavor, and like the fact that it makes them much more able to stay calm and be less reactive.

But like all antipsychotics, its main mode of action is to make you less motivated, period. If your motivations tend to be scattered and bizarre (as in schizophrenia), or self-destructive (as in mania), then dialing down motivation globally can be a good thing, undeniably for those close to you and caring for you, but even in some cases for the patient subjectively.

But that said, there are a lot of people, including many very depressed people, for whom less motivation is not at all what they need.

 

[QuasiStoned]

The short answer is yes, quetiapine can help as an adjunct with depression. But I think this is an indirect effect of its ability to enhance sleep quality (anticholinergic), and keep one from being motivated enough to act on compulsive urges to overreact, or binge unhealthily on pleasurable things to try to relieve the depression (DA blockade).

I don't think quetiapine has all that much anticholinergic activity. It's binding affinities for M1 and M2 isn't all that high. Even in my own personal experience with quetiapine it doesn't have that "dirty" or "gritty" feeling that I associated with diphenhydramine. It's sedative effects are more likely from it's super high affinity for the histamine receptors.