Pharmacology of Antidepressants: Recent Advances
A special issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247). This special issue belongs to the section "Pharmacology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (5 July 2025) | Viewed by 3285
Special Issue Editor
Interests: carotenoids; depression; endoplasmic reticulum stress; inflammation; oxidative stress; periodontitis
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Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Depression is a chronic, severe, and often life-threatening condition. Depression can be characterized by a diverse combination of symptoms, including changes in mood (affect), sleep, appetite, cognition, and motivation, as well as a reduced ability to experience pleasure (anhedonia) or suicidal thoughts. For decades, depressive symptoms have been treated primarily with medications that target the brain's serotonin and norepinephrine systems. These medications include monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) and tricyclic antidepressants, as well as the newer selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), which increase levels of serotonin and/or norepinephrine in synapses. While waiting for these medications to have an effect, people continue to experience suicidal thoughts or actions, so the discovery of rapid-acting antidepressants has become an important challenge. The first example of such a drug is S-ketamine, as its introduction to therapy contributed to the search for the mechanism of action responsible for the rapid effect, and consequently targets, for other drugs.
In recent years, the relationship between inflammation and the development of depression has been studied. Peripheral inflammation can contribute to depressive symptoms by reaching the central nervous system (CNS) through various mechanisms, including the gut–microbiota–brain axis, the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, the glutamatergic system, and the kynurenine (KYN) pathway, as well as by impairing neuroplasticity. Therefore, we are inclined to ask whether there are natural or synthetic substances that could exhibit antidepressant effects through anti-inflammatory action?
Analyzing the role of the gut–brain axis in the development of depression is becoming very fashionable. Disorders of the bacterial flora of the gastrointestinal tract resulting from, for example, chronic stress may cause symptoms of mental disorders. The use of probiotics is a response to such a pathophysiology of depression. Is this the right direction?
In this Special Issue, titled “Pharmacology of Antidepressants; Recent Advances”, we want to consider the direction in which we are heading regarding the treatment of depression, as well as what mechanisms should characterize a new and effective antidepressant. Alternatively, the basis of depression in each patient should be examined, as each patient may have a different pathophysiology, and drugs should be selected depending on the type of depression.
Dr. Anna Wiktorowska-Owczarek
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- new mechanisms of antidepressants action
- new targets for antidepressant therapy
- rapid-acting antidepressants
- inflammation in depression
- gut–microbiota–brain axis in depression
- probiotic as an antidepressant
- quo vadis pharmacology of antidepressants
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