Imipramine

Imipramine
Systematic (IUPAC) name
3-(10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[b,f]azepin-5-yl)-N,N-dimethylpropan-1-amine
Clinical data
Trade names Tofranil
AHFS/Drugs.com monograph
MedlinePlus a682389
Pregnancy cat. D(US)
Known risk of damage to fetus.
Legal status Prescription only
Routes Oral
Pharmacokinetic data
Bioavailability  ?
Metabolism Hepatic
Main active metabolite desipramine
Half-life 11-25 hours
Excretion Renal
Identifiers
CAS number 50-49-7 Y
ATC code N06AA02
PubChem CID 3696
DrugBank APRD00672
ChemSpider 3568 Y
UNII OGG85SX4E4 Y
KEGG D08070 Y
ChEBI CHEBI:47499 Y
ChEMBL CHEMBL11 Y
Chemical data
Formula C19H24N2 
Mol. mass 280.407 g/mol
SMILES eMolecules & PubChem
 N(what is this?)  (verify)

Imipramine (sold as Antideprin, Deprimin, Deprinol, Depsol, Depsonil, Dynaprin, Eupramin, Imipramil, Irmin, Janimine, Melipramin, Surplix, Tofranil), also known as melipramine, is an antidepressant medication, a tricyclic antidepressant of the dibenzazepine group. Imipramine is mainly used in the treatment of major depression and enuresis (inability to control urination).

It has also been evaluated for use in panic disorder.[1]

Contents

Therapeutic uses

Imipramine is used in the treatment of depression, such as depression associated with agitation or anxiety and has similar efficacy to the antidepressant drug moclobemide.[2]

History

Imipramine was, in the late 1950s, the first tricyclic antidepressant to be developed (by Ciba). It was first tried against psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia, but proved insufficient. As an antidepressant, it did well in clinical studies and it is known to work well in even the most severe cases of depression.[3] It is not surprising, therefore, that Imipramine is also known to cause a high rate of manic and hypomanic reactions, especially in patients with preexisting bipolar disorder. It is estimated that up to 25% of such patients maintained on Imipramine will switch into mania or hypomania.[4] Such powerful antidepressant properties have made it favorable in the treatment of treatment-resistant depression.

At the advent of SSRIs, its sometimes intolerable side-effect profile became more tolerable. Therefore, it became extensively used as a standard antidepressant and later served as a prototypical drug for the development of the later-released tricyclics. It is not as commonly used today, but is sometimes used to treat major depression as a second-line treatment. It has also seen limited use in the treatment of migraines, ADHD, and post concussive syndrome. Imipramine has additional indications for the treatment of panic attacks, chronic pain, and Kleine-Levin syndrome. In pediatric patients, it is relatively frequently used to treat pavor nocturnus and nocturnal enuresis.

Mechanism of action

Imipramine, a tertiary amine, affects numerous neurotransmitter systems known to be involved in the etiology of depression, anxiety , ADHD, enuresis and numerous other mental and physical conditions. Imipramine is similar in structure to some muscle relaxants, and has a significant analgesic effect and, thus, is very useful in some pain conditions.

The mechanisms of Imipramine's medicinal action include, but are not limited to, effects on:

Comparison with other antidepressants

The potency (affinity) of imipramine and other antidepressant on various transporters and receptors are summarized below. Data are from "Pharmacology of antidepressant", Mayo Clin Proc, May 2001, Vol 76.[8]

Potency (affinity) data are expressed as the inverse of equilibrium dissociation constant multiplied by a factor of 10−7. So, the higher the number, the higher the blocking power.

Drug SERT NET DAT α1 blockade D2 blockade H1 blockade muscarinic blockade 5HT2 blockade
imipramine 70 2.7 0.012 1.5 0.05 9.1 1.1 1.2
desipramine (also an imipramine metabolite) 5.7 128 0.024 0.77 0.03 0.91 0.5 0.38
amitriptyline 23 2.9 0.023 3.7 0.1 91 5.6 3.4
clomipramine 360 2.7 0.045 2.6 0.53 3.2 2.7 3.7
paroxetine 800 2.5 0.2 0.025 0.003 0.03 0.93 0.005
citalopram 98 0.035 0.0038 0.053 0 0.21 0.045 0.34

Metabolism

Imipramine is converted to desipramine, another TCA, in the body.

Side effects

Those listed in Italic text below denote common side effects. Those listed in bold text denote life-threatening side effects.[9]

Dosage

Overdose

The symptoms and the treatment of an imipramine overdose are largely the same as for the other tricyclic antidepressants. Cardinal symptoms are cardiac (tachycardia, widened QRS complex) and neurological disturbances. Any ingestion by children should be considered as serious and potentially fatal.

See also

References

  1. ^ Lepola U, Arató M, Zhu Y, Austin C (June 2003). "Sertraline versus imipramine treatment of comorbid panic disorder and major depressive disorder". J Clin Psychiatry 64 (6): 654–62. doi:10.4088/JCP.v64n0606. PMID 12823079. http://www.psychiatrist.com/privatepdf/2003/v64n06/v64n0606.pdf. 
  2. ^ Delini-Stula A, Mikkelsen H, Angst J (October 1995). "Therapeutic efficacy of antidepressants in agitated anxious depression--a meta-analysis of moclobemide studies". J Affect Disord 35 (1-2): 21–30. PMID 8557884. 
  3. ^ Healy, David: The Antidepressant Era, page 211. Harvard University Press, 1997.
  4. ^ Bottlender R, Rudolf D, Strauss A, Möller HJ (1998). "Antidepressant-associated maniform states in acute treatment of patients with bipolar-I depression". European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience 248 (6): 296–300. doi:10.1007/s004060050053. PMID 9928908. 
  5. ^ Tsankova NM, Berton O, Renthal W, Kumar A, Neve RL, Nestler EJ (April 2006). "Sustained hippocampal chromatin regulation in a mouse model of depression and antidepressant action". Nature Neuroscience 9 (4): 519–25. doi:10.1038/nn1659. PMID 16501568. 
  6. ^ Krishnan V, Nestler EJ (October 2008). "The molecular neurobiology of depression". Nature 455 (7215): 894–902. Bibcode 2008Natur.455..894K. doi:10.1038/nature07455. PMC 2721780. PMID 18923511. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=2721780. 
  7. ^ Effects of imipramine administration on mu-opioid receptor immunostaining in the rat forebrain. de Gandarias JM, Echevarria E, Acebes I, Silio M, Casis L. 1: Arzneimittelforschung. 1998 Jul;48(7):717-9 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9706370
  8. ^ Richelson E (May 2001). "Pharmacology of antidepressants". Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Mayo Clinic 76 (5): 511–27. doi:10.4065/76.5.511. PMID 11357798. 
  9. ^ Skidmore-Roth, L.(ed.). (2010). Mosby's Nursing Drug Reference (23rd ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby Elsevier.

External links