Agomelatine beyond Borders: Current Evidences of Its Efficacy in Disorders Other than Major Depression

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Domenico De Berardis²  Michele Fornaro⁸  Nicola Serroni⁹  Daniela Campanella⁹  Gabriella Rapini⁹  Luigi Olivieri²  Venkataramanujam Srinivasan³  Felice Iasevoli⁷  Carmine Tomasetti⁷  Andrea De Bartolomeis⁷  Alessandro Valchera⁶  Giampaolo Perna¹  Monica Mazza⁴  Marco Di Nicola⁵  Giovanni Martinotti⁹  Massimo Di Giannantonio⁹ 

[1] Hermanas Hospitalarias, FoRiPsi, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Villa San Benedetto Menni, Albese con Cassano, 22032 Como, Italy; E-Mail:;National Health Service, Department of Mental Health, Psychiatric Service of Diagnosis and Treatment, Hospital “G. Mazzini”, ASL 4, 64100 Teramo, Italy; E-Mail:;Sri Sathya Sai Medical Educational and Research Foundation, Medical Sciences Research Study Center, Prasanthi Nilayam, 40-Kovai Thirunagar Coimbatore-641014, 641014 Tamilnadu, India;Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy; E-Mail:;Institute of Psychiatry and Psychology, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, 00168 Rome, Italy; E-Mail:;Hermanas Hospitalarias, FoRiPsi, Villa S. Giuseppe Hospital, 63100 Ascoli Piceno, Italy; E-Mail:;Laboratory of Molecular Psychiatry and Psychopharmacotherapeutics, Section of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, University School of Medicine “Federico II”, 80131 Naples, Italy; E-Mails:;Department of “Scienze della Formazione”, University of Catania, 95121 Catania, Italy; E-Mail:;Department of Neuroscience and Imaging, University “G. D’Annunzio”, 66013 Chieti, Italy; E-Mails:

关键词: melatonin;    melatonergic receptors;    serotonin;    dopamine;    noradrenaline;    agomelatine;    anxiety;    bipolar depression;    seasonal affective disorder;    schizophrenia;    alcohol dependence;    migraines;    fibromyalgia;    psychiatric disorders;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms16011111

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Agomelatine, a melatonergic antidepressant with a rapid onset of action, is one of the most recent drugs in the antidepressant category. Agomelatine’s antidepressant actions are attributed to its sleep-promoting and chronobiotic actions mediated by MT1 and MT2 receptors present in the suprachiasmatic nucleus, as well as to its effects on the blockade of 5-HT2c receptors. Blockade of 5-HT2c receptors causes release of both noradrenaline and dopamine at the fronto-cortical dopaminergic and noradrenergic pathways. The combined actions of agomelatine on MT1/MT2 and 5-HT2c receptors facilitate the resynchronization of altered circadian rhythms and abnormal sleep patterns. Agomelatine appeared to be effective in treating major depression. Moreover, evidence exists that points out a possible efficacy of such drug in the treatment of bipolar depression, anxiety disorders, alcohol dependence, migraines etc. Thus, the aim of this narrative review was to elucidate current evidences on the role of agomelatine in disorders other than major depression.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.