Ipsapirone, a 5-HT1A agonist, suppresses REM sleep equally in unmedicated depressed patients and normal controls.
To determine whether ipsapirone, a 5-HT1A agonist, differentially suppresses REM sleep in depressed patients compared with normal controls, we administered placebo, ipsapirone 10 mg, or ipsapirone 20 mg in a double-blind, random order before bedtime in 18 unmedicated patients with depression and 16 age-matched, gender-matched normal controls. Compared to placebo, ipsapirone affected REM sleep measures equally in depressed patients and controls as follows: (1) increased REM latency; (2) reduced total REM percent, REM time, and REM density; and (3) delayed the onset of REM sleep. In addition, ipsapirone had similar effects in patients and controls in other sleep measures: (1) reduced total sleep time; (2) delayed sleep onset time; and (3) increased sleep latency, stage 1%, stage 2%, the amount of stage 3 & 4 sleep in the first non-REM period, and wake time after sleep onset. The study does not support the hypothesis that downregulated 5-HT1A receptors mediate the pathophysiology or sleep disturbances of depression, although further studies are needed as these patients did not differ from controls in baseline sleep measures.
Gillin
J C
JC
Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego 92093-0603, USA.
Sohn
J W
JW
Stahl
S M
SM
Lardon
M
M
Kelsoe
J
J
Rapaport
M
M
Ruiz
C
C
Golshan
S
S
D000328:Adult; D003864:Depression, Chemical; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017286:Polysomnography; D011743:Pyrimidines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017366:Serotonin Receptor Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012894:Sleep Stages / Q000187:drug effects; D012895:Sleep, REM / Q000187:drug effects*
D011743:Pyrimidines; D017366:Serotonin Receptor Agonists; C043077:ipsapirone