Psychopharmacology Tips

Imipramine, desipramine and nortriptyline should be monitored using plasma levels, as their plasma levels have been demonstrated to relate accurately to clinical outcome (Roose and Glassman, 1994). Moreover, blood levels should be measured for nortriptyline because a significant proportion of general population are slow metabolizers of the drug (Souery et al., 2001).

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Roose, S.P. & Glassman, A.H. (1994) Treatment with tricyclic antidepressants: defining the refractory patient. In: Refractory depression: Current strategies and future directions. (Eds.) Nolen, W.A., Zohar, J., Roose, S.P. & Amsterdam, J.D. Chichester, UK: John Wiley.

Souery, D., Lipp, O., Massat, I. & Mendlewicz, J. (2001). The characterization and definition of treatment-resistant mood disorders. In: Treatment-resistant mood disorders, (Eds.) Amsterdam, J.D., Hornig, M. & Nierenberg, A.A. pp 3 – 29, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.