Medical psychology, or Medico-psychology, is the application of psychological principles to the practice of medicine, primarily drug-oriented, for both physical and mental disorders.
Sertraline, sold under the brand name Zoloft among others, is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. The efficacy of sertraline for depression is similar to that of other antidepressants, and the differences are mostly confined to side effects. Sertraline is better tolerated than the older tricyclic antidepressants, and it may work better than fluoxetine for some subtypes of depression. Sertraline is effective for panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). However, for OCD, cognitive behavioral therapy, particularly in combination with sertraline, is a better treatment. Although approved for post-traumatic stress disorder, sertraline leads to only modest improvement in this condition. Sertraline also alleviates the symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder and can be used in sub-therapeutic doses or intermittently for its treatment.
Benzatropine (INN), known as benztropine in the United States and Japan, is a medication used to treat a type of movement disorder due to antipsychotics known as dystonia and parkinsonism. It is not useful for tardive dyskinesia. It is taken by mouth or by injection into a vein or muscle. Benefits are seen within two hours and last for up to ten hours.
Mirtazapine, sold under the brand name Remeron among others, is an atypical antidepressant, and as such is used primarily to treat depression. Its effects may take up to four weeks, but can also manifest as early as one to two weeks. It is often used in cases of depression complicated by anxiety or insomnia. The effectiveness of Mirtazapine is comparable to other commonly prescribed antidepressants. It is taken by mouth.
Azapirones are a class of drugs used as anxiolytics, antidepressants, and antipsychotics. They are commonly used as add-ons to other antidepressants, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
Pagoclone is an anxiolytic agent from the cyclopyrrolone family, related to better-known drugs such as the sleeping medication zopiclone. It was synthesized by a French team working for Rhone-Poulenc & Rorer S.A. Pagoclone belongs to the class of nonbenzodiazepines, which have similar effects to the older benzodiazepine group, but with quite different chemical structures. It was never commercialised.
Melperone is an atypical antipsychotic of the butyrophenone chemical class, making it structurally related to the typical antipsychotic haloperidol. It first entered clinical use in 1960s.
Medifoxamine, previously sold under the brand names Clédial and Gerdaxyl, is an atypical antidepressant with additional anxiolytic properties acting via dopaminergic and serotonergic mechanisms which was formerly marketed in France and Spain, as well as Morocco. The drug was first introduced in France sometime around 1990. It was withdrawn from the market in 1999 (Morocco) and 2000 (France) following incidences of hepatotoxicity.
Flesinoxan (DU-29,373) is a potent and selective 5-HT1A receptor partial/near-full agonist of the phenylpiperazine class. Originally developed as a potential antihypertensive drug, flesinoxan was later found to possess antidepressant and anxiolytic effects in animal tests. As a result, it was investigated in several small human pilot studies for the treatment of major depressive disorder, and was found to have robust effectiveness and very good tolerability. However, due to "management decisions", the development of flesinoxan was stopped and it was not pursued any further.
Ispronicline is an experimental drug which acts as a partial agonist at neural nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. It progressed to phase II clinical trials for the treatment of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, but is no longer under development.
Nonabine (BRL-4664) is an experimental drug which is a synthetic THC analog. It was studied in the 1980s for the prevention of nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy but was never marketed. It has strong antiemetic effects equivalent to those of chlorpromazine, and also produces some mild sedative effects, along with dry mouth and EEG changes typical of cannabinoid agonists, but with minimal changes in mood or perception, suggesting the abuse potential is likely to be low.
Ciclazindol (WY-23409) is an antidepressant and anorectic drug of the tetracyclic chemical class that was developed in the mid to late 1970s, but was never marketed. It acts as a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, and to a lesser extent as a dopamine reuptake inhibitor. Ciclazindol has no effects on the SERT, 5-HT receptors, mACh receptors, or α-adrenergic receptors, and has only weak affinity for the H1 receptor. As suggested by its local anesthetic properties, ciclazindol may also inhibit sodium channels. It is known to block potassium channels as well.
Tiospirone (BMY-13,859), also sometimes called tiaspirone or tiosperone, is an atypical antipsychotic of the azapirone class. It was investigated as a treatment for schizophrenia in the late 1980s and was found to have an effectiveness equivalent to those of typical antipsychotics in clinical trials but without causing extrapyramidal side effects. However, development was halted and it was not marketed. Perospirone, another azapirone derivative with antipsychotic properties, was synthesized and assayed several years after tiospirone. It was found to be both more potent and more selective in comparison and was commercialized instead.
Esmirtazapine (ORG-50,081) is a drug which was under development by Organon for the treatment of insomnia and vasomotor symptoms (e.g., hot flashes) associated with menopause. Esmirtazapine is the (S)-(+)-enantiomer of mirtazapine and possesses similar overall pharmacology, including inverse agonist actions at H1 and 5-HT2 receptors and antagonist actions at α2-adrenergic receptors. As of March 2010, Merck terminated internal clinical development program for esmirtazapine, for hot flashes and insomnia, for strategic reasons.
The Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology is a peer-reviewed medical journal published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins covering clinical psychopharmacology. It was founded by Richard I. Shader, MD in 1981 as the first journal of an international scope devoted solely to clinical psychopharmacology. David J. Greenblatt, MD served as Co-Editor-In-Chief. Drs. Shader and Greenblatt remained at the helm of the journal until both retired at the end of 2020. Anthony J. Rothschild, MD became JCP's new Editor-in-Chief in January 2021.
Piquindone (Ro 22-1319) is an atypical antipsychotic with a tricyclic structure that was developed in the 1980s but was never marketed. It acts as a selective D2 receptor antagonist, though based on its effects profile its selectivity may be considered controversial. Unlike most other D2 receptor ligands, piquindone displays Na+-dependent binding, a property it shares with tropapride, zetidoline, and metoclopramide.
Ifoxetine (CGP-15,210-G) is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) which was investigated as an antidepressant in the 1980s but was never marketed. Ifoxetine selectively blocks the reuptake of serotonin in the brain supposedly without affecting it in the periphery. Supporting this claim, ifoxetine was found to be efficacious in clinical trials and was very well tolerated, producing almost no physical side effects or other complaints of significant concern.
Org 28611 (SCH-900,111) is a drug developed by Organon International which acts as a potent cannabinoid receptor full agonist at both the CB1 and CB2 receptors. It was developed with the aim of finding a water-soluble cannabinoid agonist suitable for intravenous use as an analgesic, and while it achieved this aim and has progressed as far as Phase II clinical trials in humans as both a sedative and an analgesic, results against the comparison drugs (midazolam and morphine respectively) were not particularly favourable in initial testing.
The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Oxford University Press. It is an official journal of the Collegium Internationale Neuro-Psychopharmacologicum (CINP) and covers basic and clinical topics in neuropharmacology and psychopharmacology. It was established in 1998 by Bernard Lerer, who served as editor-in-chief until 2008.
Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Psychological Association. It was established in 1993 and covers research in clinical psychology. The current editor-in-chief is William W. Stoops.
