A Review on Novel Strategies for Pharmacotherapy of Depression

Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an allencompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Prevalence rate of major depression is markedly rising all over the world. Pathophysiology of depression is mainly focus on the three major monoamine systems- serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5HT), nor epinephrine (NE), and dopamine (DA). The emerging new tools of molecular neurobiology and functional brain imaging have provided additional support for the involvement of these three systems. Popular conventional drugs for pharmacotherapy of Depression are Tricyclic anti-depressants, Monoamine oxidase inhibitors and Selective Serotonin Re-uptake inhibitors. Major drawbacks of these drugs include suicide tendency and discontinuation syndrome and there is need of time to focus research at minimising side effects. In last two decades, many new drugs became available in market for pharmacotherapy of depression including novel Selective Serotinin Norepinephrine re-uptake inhibitors and still reserves bright scope in research of anti-depressant. On the other hand, a number of alternative therapeutic strategies are now emerging, as exemplified by the first Substance P receptor antagonist, MK-0869, and several Corticotrophinreleasing factor antagonists now entering clinical trials. Preclinical models predict that some of these new drugs may have a faster onset of action and improved efficacy. It is clear to note that the next generation of drugs will need to tackle some of the unresolved problems of antidepressant therapy such as suicide tendency.