Selective norepinephrine and serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SNRI's) are commonly used in the treatment of cataplexy because cataplexy is the result of down dysregulated norepinephrine, itself the result of missing or greatly diminished orexinergic signaling.
However, cataplexy is also occasionally treated with Phentermine, which is a norepinephrine releasing agent.
What happens when a person takes both a releasing agent and a reuptake inhibitor (not necessarily specific to this example, but generally)? Is the result a greater concentration/availability of the protein you're after than you'd get with either individually?
Yes, you will get an enhanced effect by combining two such agents. Importantly, this can be dangerous for the patient. Combining two adrenergic drugs could produce severe effects on the cardiovascular system (increased heart rate and blood pressure), whereas combining two serotonergic drugs can lead to the so-called serotonin syndrome. So this kind of drug combination should be avoided.
Dear Moshe,
This is a complicated issue, read the paper:
Article Amphetamine: evaluation of d- and l-isomers as releasing age...
That's the kind of thing I was hoping for! The abstract is very clearly written and already has given me some insight, so I'm expecting to enjoy the full text article. Thanks!
I didn't receive a response from the authors. Can anyone help me get a copy of that article?
All four are here on RG,
R E Heikkila · H Orlansky · C Mytilineou · G Cohen,
someone must answer you. I asked for their fulltext.