• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.376-382
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• 2011

The results from eight clinical studies demonstrate that citalopram and escitalopram could be an effective option in the treatment of hot flashes with tolerable adverse effects. However, there are limitations in the above studies. The inclusion criteria of 2 studies reviewed in this paper was breast cancer patients, so it's hard to apply the results to the general population in clinical practice. Also 4 studies had less than 50 subjects included, and the duration of study was 8 weeks or less in 7 studies reviewed in this paper. Moreover, only 4 studies were randomized, placebo-controlled trials (3 for citalopram and 1 for escitalopram). Therefore, further randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies with the general population should be needed to use citalopram and escitalopram for the treatment of hot flashes in clinical practice.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.303-309
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• 2008

Objectives : Some reports have suggested that 5-HT5A polymorphism allelic association was associated with depression, however, there has been no report about relationship between the 5-HT5A gene and antidepressant response. We conducted the association study of the 5-HT5A receptor gene polymorphisms (-19G/C,12A/T) and response to citalopram in Korean patients with major depressive disorder(MDD). Methods : A total of 106 patients with major depressive disorder were included in this study. The patient's symptoms were measured by 21-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale(HAMD) at baseline, week 1, week 2, week 4 and week 8 during citalopram treatment. A Responder to citalopram was defined by 50% reduction of total HAMD scores. To analyze genetic polymorphisms, a polymerase chain reaction based method was used. Results : At week 8, responders were 62, non-responders were 44. No significant differences of genotypes or allelic association in 19G/C and 12A/T polymorphisms were observed between responsive and non-responsive patients. Conclusion : These results do not support the hypothesis that this polymorphism of the HT5A receptor gene is involved in the therapeutic response to citalopram.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.262-267
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• 2007

The serotonin 6(5-HT6) receptor gene is a candidate gene for influencing the clinical response to treatment with antidepressants. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the C267T polymorphism in the 5-HT6 receptor gene and the treatment response to citalopram in a Korean population with major depressive disorder(MDD). Methods : Citalopram was administered for 8 weeks to the 90 patients who completed study. 21-item Hamilton depression rating scale(HAMD-21) was used as a outcome measure. Results : We found that the genotype, allele, and allele-carrier distributions did not differ significantly between MDD patients and normal controls. A main effect of an interaction of genotype with time on the decrease in the HAMD-21 score during the 8 weeks study period was not found. ANOVA revealed no significant effects of the C825T polymorphism on the decrease in the HAMD-21 score at each time period. Conclusions : These results suggest that the C267T polymorphism in the 5-HT6 receptor gene is not associated with the treatment response to citalopram.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.117-123
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• 2008

Although growth associated protein-43 (GAP-43) is known to playa significant role in the regulation of axonal growth and the formation of new neuronal connections in the hippocampus, there is only a few studies on the effects of acute stress on GAP-43 mRNA expression in the hippocampus. Moreover, the effects of repeated citalopram treatment on chronic mild stress (CMS)-induced changes in GAP-43 mRNA expression in the hippocampus have not been explored before. To explore this question, male rats were exposed to acute immobilization stress or CMS. Also, citalopram was given prior to stress everyday during CMS procedures. Acute immobilization stress significantly increased GAP-43 mRNA expression in all subfields of the hippocampus, while CMS significantly decreased GAP-43 mRNA expression in the dentate granule cell layer (GCL). Repeated citalopram treatment decreased GAP-43 mRNA expression in the GCL compared with unstressed controls, but this decrease was not further potentiated by CMS exposure. Similar decreases in GAP-43 mRNA expression were observed in CA1, CA3 and CA4 areas of the hippocampus only after repeated citalopram treatment in CMS-exposed rats. This result indicates that GAP-43 mRNA expression in the hippocampus may differently respond to acute and chronic stress, and that repeated citalopram treatment does not change CMS-induced decreases in GAP-43 mRNA expression in the GCL.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.1-4
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• 2008

The 5-HTT gene is a candidate gene for influencing the clinical response to antidepressant treatment. The purpose of this gene study was to determine the relationship between serotonin transporter gene polymorphism at the SLC6A4 and the response to citalopram in a Korean population with major depressive disorder (MDD). Citalopram was administered for 8 weeks to the 80 patients who completed this study. The severity of depression was assessed with the 21-item Hamilton Depression Rating scale, and the 5-HTTLPR genotypes in the patients were determined using the polymerase chain reaction. Our result did not showed significant differences in, allele, and carrier distribution between the normal group and MDD patients. This study suggest that polymorphism of the 5HTT gene was not associated with citalopram response to MDD in the Korean population.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.321-329
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• 2013

Rodents exposed to a 15-min pretest swim in the forced swimming test (FST) exhibit prolonged immobility in a subsequent 5-min test swim, and antidepressant treatment before the test swim reduces immobility. At present, neuronal circuits recruited by antidepressant before the test swim remain unclear, and also less is known about whether antidepressants with different mechanisms of action could influence neural circuits differentially. To reveal the neural circuits associated with antidepressant effect in the FST, we injected desipramine or citalopram 0.5 h, 19 h, and 23 h after the pretest swim and observed changes in c-Fos expression in rats before the test swim, namely 24 h after the pretest swim. Desipramine treatment alone in the absence of pretest swim was without effect, whereas citalopram treatment alone significantly increased the number of c-Fos-like immunoreactive cells in the central nucleus of the amygdala and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, where this pattern of increase appears to be maintained after the pretest swim. Both desipramine and citalopram treatment after the pretest swim significantly increased the number of c-Fos-like immunoreactive cells in the ventral lateral septum and ventrolateral periaqueductal gray before the test swim. These results suggest that citalopram may affect c-Fos expression in the central nucleus of the amygdala and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis distinctively and raise the possibility that upregulation of c-Fos in the ventral lateral septum and ventrolateral periaqueductal gray before the test swim may be one of the probable common mechanisms underlying antidepressant effect in the FST.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.355-359
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• 2008

This study aimed to determine the relationship between the C825T polymorphism in the G-protein ${\beta}$3-subunit (GNB3) gene and the response to citalopram in a Korean population with major depressive disorder (MDD). Citalopram was administered for 8 weeks to the 84 MDD patients who completed this study. All subjects were examined using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, and the severity of depression was assessed using the 21-item Hamilton Depression Rating (HAMD-21) scale. A main effect of an interaction of genotype with time on the decrease in the HAMD-21 score during the 8-week study period was not found. ANOVA revealed no significant effects of the GNB3 C825T polymorphism on the decrease in the HAMD-21 score at each time period. Although the C825T polymorphism of the GNB3 gene may affect the pathogenesis of MDD, our results do not support the hypothesis that this polymorphism is involved in the therapeutic response to citalopram in Korean patients with MDD.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.65-70
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• 2012

Synaptic long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) have been studied as mechanisms of ocular dominance plasticity in the rat visual cortex. Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) inhibits the induction of LTP and LTD during the critical period of the rat visual cortex (postnatal 3~5 weeks). However, in adult rats, the increase in 5-HT level in the brain by the administration of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) fluoxetine reinstates ocular dominance plasticity and LTP in the visual cortex. Here, we investigated the effect of 5-HT on the induction of LTP in the visual cortex obtained from 3- to 10-week-old rats. Field potentials in layer 2/3, evoked by the stimulation of underlying layer 4, was potentiated by theta-burst stimulation (TBS) in 3- and 5-weekold rats, then declined to the baseline level with aging to 10 weeks. Whereas 5-HT inhibited the induction of LTP in 5-week-old rats, it reinstated the induction of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDA)-dependent LTP in 8- and 10-week-old rats. Moreover, the selective SSRI citalopram reinstated LTP. The potentiating effect of 5-HT at 8 weeks of age was mediated by the activation of 5-$HT_2$ receptors, but not by the activation of either 5-$HT_{1A}$ or 5-$HT_3$ receptors. These results suggested that the effect of 5-HT on the induction of LTP switches from inhibitory in young rats to facilitatory in adult rats.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.509-517
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• 2019

Escitalopram is one of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants. As an S-enantiomer of citalopram, it shows better therapeutic outcome in depression and anxiety disorder treatment because it has higher selectivity for serotonin reuptake transporter than citalopram. The objective of this study was to determine the direct inhibitory effect of escitalopram on 5-hydroxytryptamine type 3 ($5-HT_3$) receptor currents and study its blocking mechanism to explore additional pharmacological effects of escitalopram through $5-HT_3$ receptors. Using a wholecell voltage clamp method, we recorded currents of $5-HT_3$ receptors when 5-HT was applied alone or co-applied with escitalopram in cultured NCB-20 neuroblastoma cells known to express $5-HT_3$ receptors. 5-HT induced currents were inhibited by escitalopram in a concentration-dependent manner. $EC_{50}$ of 5-HT on $5-HT_3$ receptor currents was increased by escitalopram while the maximal peak amplitude was reduced by escitalopram. The inhibitory effect of escitalopram was voltage independent. Escitalopram worked more effectively when it was co-applied with 5-HT than pre-application of escitalopram. Moreover, escitalopram showed fast association and dissociation to the open state of $5-HT_3$ receptor channel with accelerating receptor desensitization. Although escitalopram accelerated $5-HT_3$ receptor desensitization, it did not change the time course of desensitization recovery. These results suggest that escitalopram can inhibit $5-HT_3$ receptor currents in a non-competitive manner with the mechanism of open channel blocking.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.29 no.10
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• pp.1946-1950
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• 2008

The synthesis of new 5-cyano-1,1-disubstituted phthalans having aromatic and aminoalkyl groups at C-1 position of phthalan ring and their biological evaluation are described. Most compounds exhibited comparable ejaculation-retarding effects to citalopram. Of these compounds, 3a, e showed excellent efficacy in delaying ejaculation.