Prolactin stimulating effects of amoxapine and loxapine in psychiatric patients

Alan G. Robertson, Robert Berry, Herbert Y. Meltzer*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Scopus citations

Abstract

The effects of acute and chronic administration of a new antidepressant, amoxapine, on serum prolactin levels were compared to the effects of loxapine, its parent compound, which is a widely used neuroleptic. Serum prolactin levels were significantly elevated after amoxapine. These elevations were not significantly different from those of patients given loxapine. This suggests that amoxapine, in contrast to most other antidepressants, can block dopamine receptors at the anterior pituitary, which usually is associated with blockade of dopamine receptors in the striatum and limbic system, leading to extrapyramidal side effects and antipsychotic properties, respectively. The implications of these findings for the clinical use of amoxapine are discussed,

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)287-292
Number of pages6
JournalPsychopharmacology
Volume78
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 1982

Keywords

  • Amoxapine
  • Dopamine blockade
  • Loxapine
  • Prolactin

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pharmacology

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