Neuropharmacology of venlafaxine

Venlafaxine (Effexor) is an effective antidepressant and has also been appr oved for the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder. Vanlafaxine was ini tially characterized as an inhibitor of both serotonin (5HT) and norepineph rine (NE) uptake and was therefore termed a "dual uptake inhibitor." This c hapter reviews data from both in vitro and in vivo studies regarding its ef fects an 5HT and NE neurotransmission. In addition, the effects of venlafax ine on other systems that may play a role in its therapeutic efficacy effec ts are described. The data indicate that venlafaxine is a relatively weak i nhibitor of NE transport in vitro. In vivo studies indicate that venlafaxin e selectively inhibits 5HT uptake at low therapeutic doses and inhibits bot h 5HT and NE uptake at higher therapeutic noses. This chapter concludes wit h a discussion of the effects of venlafaxine on various aspects of physiolo gy, (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.