Biomedical subjects

Hitoshi Takahashi

Publications and source records attributed to Hitoshi Takahashi.

147 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Addition of a dopamine agonist, cabergoline, to a serotonin-noradrenalin reuptake inhibitor, milnacipran as a therapeutic option in the treatment of refractory depression: two case reports.

We illustrate 2 patients with depression who attained dramatic improvement of energy loss and fatigue when treated with cabergoline, a dopamine agonist, and milnacipran, a serotonin-noradrenalin reuptake inhibitor. Although the biologic basis of energy, motivation, and fatigue in association with depression remains unknown, some reports suggest that the decrease of noradrenalin and dopamine in the brain are particularly related to these symptoms. Therefore, treatment strategy that enhances these two monoamine neurotransmissions may be appropriate for getting a boost in energy and eliminating fatigue in patients with depression. These cases suggest that further studies are warranted to confirm the potential benefit of this strategy in the treatment of patients with depression who failed to attain complete remission due to residual symptoms including energy loss and fatigue refractory to previous treatments.

Adrenergic Uptake Inhibitors↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Response rate obtained using milnacipran depending on the severity of depression in the treatment of major depressive patients.

Milnacipran--a new specific serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor--is as effective as tricyclic antidepressants and exhibits a higher remission rate for major depressive patients than selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. However, the effectiveness of milnacipran for severe major depressive patients had not been studied adequately. The study included 96 Japanese patients who fulfilled the DSM-IV criteria for the diagnosis of major depressive disorders and whose score on the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) was 21 or higher. Of these, 16 patients were excluded because 10 did not complete the study, and 6 showed poor compliance. Finally, 80 patients were included. We defined patients with a baseline MADRS score of > or = 31 points as "severe" (n = 25). The remaining patients were classified as "moderate" (31 > MADRS score > or = 25, n = 30) and "mild" (MADRS score < 25, n = 25) using the median score of those patients as the cutoff. Milnacipran was administered twice daily for 6 weeks. The initial total dose was 50 mg/d; after a week it was increased to 100 mg/d. The response rates were 72%, 70%, and 44% in the "severe," "moderate," and "mild," respectively. No significant differences were found between "severe" and the "moderate"; however, significant differences were observed between "severe" and "mild" and "moderate" and "mild." These results demonstrated that milnacipran is almost equally effective in "severe" and "moderate." This study suggested that milnacipran has a reliable antidepressant effect in treating severe and moderate major depressive patients.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Effectiveness of milnacipran for the treatment of chronic pain: a case series.

Milnacipran is a novel serotonin noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor. The authors describe the use of milnacipran for the treatment of chronic pain in a series of patients. There were 5 outpatients who suffered chronic pain for at least 3 months. None of these patients met the DSM-IV criteria for a major depressive disorder. Chronic pain was assessed clinically by means of a visual analog scale (VAS) before and 12 weeks after the start of the milnacipran treatment or at the time the drug was stopped. The duration of pain was 17.8 +/- 9.3 months (mean +/- SD), and the baseline VAS score was 88.2 +/- 6.3 points. Milnacipran was administered at 50 to 150 mg/day, and the dose at 12 weeks or at the time the drug was stopped was 85.0 +/- 31.3 mg/day. The mean +/- SD decrease in VAS at this time was 61.2 +/- 15.5%. Three patients showed marked improvement (decrease in VAS, >75%). Their decreases in VAS scores were 86.5%, 85.7%, and 77.6%. One patient showed mild improvement (42.0% decrease in VAS). These 4 patients tolerated the drug well. The fifth patient experienced nausea and discontinued treatment after 4 weeks. The VAS decrease for this patient was 14.3%. Results of this study show milnacipran to be beneficial in patients with chronic pain. This drug should be studied further for its effectiveness in the treatment of chronic pain.

Adult↗