Am J Psychiatry 1982; 139:1165-1167
Copyright © 1982 by American Psychiatric Association
Amoxapine: neuroleptic as well as antidepressant?
BM Cohen, PQ Harris, RI Altesman and JO Cole
Amoxapine, a new antidepressant, is the N-desmethyl analog of loxapine, a
neuroleptic. There have been reports suggesting that amoxapine itself or
its metabolites have neuroleptic as well as antidepressant properties. With
in vitro studies using a radioreceptor assay for neuroleptics, the authors
found that amoxapine--and one of its metabolites in particular
(7-hydroxyamoxapine)--have potent neuroleptic- like activity. Furthermore,
blood specimens from patients receiving amoxapine showed the presence of
neuroleptic activity in the same assay. The authors note the implications
of these findings for gauging the benefits and risks of treatment with
amoxapine, including the risk of neurologic effects.
