Mental Health
Hypertension Drug Studied in Combination Treatment for Depression
Mecamylamine is an antihypertensive and has been used to treat high blood pressure or hypertension. Mecamylamine controls nerve impulses to relax blood vessels and therefore lower blood pressure. Now, a company called Targacept is looking at this drug as a potential add-on treatment with the antidepressant citalopram (Celexa) to see if patients who did not respond to citalopram would respond when mecamylamine is added to citalopram.
The combination regimen is currently in Phase II clinical trials. Phase II clinical trials help establish efficacy (effectiveness) of a treatment, and occurs after Phase I clinical trials established safety profile of the treatment.
The company issued a press release stating favorable data from the study, where patients receiving mecamylamine and citalopram improved in their depression scale scores than patients who received citalopram alone. However, where symptom remission is concerned, patients receiving mecamylamine and citalopram did not show statistical significance in symptom remission than those who received only citalopram. Still, the press release emphasized there was clinical significance even if there was not statistical signifiance. Bottom line? More studies will be needed both to confirm the response to the drug combination and to see whether the combination would improve symptom remission over antidepressant alone.
I’d be also interested in understanding the rationale for choosing citalopram, and whether other antidepressants within the SSRI class and outside of the SSRI class of drugs would be explored in this combination.
Read more from Forbes or visit the Targacept website. You can also find out more information about mecamylamine from Medline Plus.
All information in Jane's Mental Health Source Page website is for your information and education. The information does not replace or substitute for professional medical treatment or for professional medical advice relative to a specific medical question or condition.
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