Possible Interaction: Antidepressive Agents and Melatonin

“Acute administration of the antidepressant drug desipramine (DMI) in man, increased evening melatonin secretion, which reached peak plasma levels 2-4 h earlier than after placebo administration.”

“ ADs sometimes delay nocturnal cortisol timing and increase nocturnal melatonin , thyroid hormone and prolactin levels; these effects often vary with diagnosis, and clinical state.”

“ Antidepressants and other psychotropic drugs modify melatonin synthesis.”

“Abstract Antidepressants increase melatonin levels, but it is still unclear whether this effect is related to the improvement of depressive symptoms or to unrelated pharmacological action of antidepressants.”

“We hypothesize that endogenous, i.e., low, levels of melatonin could contribute to antidepressant effects depending on the expression pattern of melatonin receptors in the brain.”

“There again was a trend toward a higher mean nocturnal MEL concentration in the female depressives compared to their matched controls.”

“The type A monoamine oxidase (MAO)-inhibiting antidepressant clorgyline (1 mg/kg/24 days) administered to rhesus monkeys increased night-time cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) melatonin concentrations 3-fold and day-time maltonin values 5-fold.”

“The experimental findings indicate that there is chemical antagonism at the surface of the enzyme between melatonin and the antidepressants that abolishes the observed inhibitory effects of the administered compounds.”

“beta-Endorphin-(10-16), as well as a variety of antidepressants , has been reported to block the behavioural changes induced by injecting melatonin into the nucleus accumbens.”

“ Antidepressants and some other psychotropic drugs affect the synthesis and release of melatonin through several mechanisms.”

“Monoamine … antidepressants increase pineal … the melatonin precursors, serotonin (5-HT) and N-acetyl serotonin (NAS), in rodents, and also increase pineal N-acetyl transferase activity as well as … and nighttime plasma melatonin concentrations; they also elevate melatonin, 5-HT and NAS in the cerebrospinal fluid of non-human primates.”