title: Decreased platelet 3H-paroxetine binding in untreated panic disorder patients.
abstract: Different findings support the involvement of the serotonin (5-HT) system in panic disorder. The presence of the 5-HT transporter in blood platelets similar to that in presynaptic serotonergic neurons, permits the investigation of this structure in periphery. We therefore evaluated the binding of 3H-paroxetine, a selective 5-HT reuptake inhibitor which is considered the ligand of choice for labelling the 5-HT transporter, in platelets of 20 drug-free patients with panic disorder. The same measurement was repeated after one year's treatment with different drugs. The results showed patients to have a lower number of 3H-paroxetine sites than a group of age- and sex-matched controls, thus suggesting the involvement of the 5-HT transporter in panic disorder. This abnormality reverted after one year of treatment with specific drugs that provoked the symptom remission in all cases, which would suggest a link with the clinical improvement.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Psichiatria, Neurobiologia, Farmacologia e Biotecnologie", University of Pisa, Italy. dmarazzi@psico.med.unipi.it
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Marazziti
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dell'Osso
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Palego
authors.forename: G P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Placidi
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Giannaccini
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lucacchini
authors.forename: G B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Cassano
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000378:metabolism*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy; D017374:Paroxetine / Q000097:blood*; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014316:Tritium
chemical_list: D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic; D017374:Paroxetine; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; D014316:Tritium