Short-term sertraline treatment suppresses sympathetic nervous system activity in healthy human subjects

• Published in: Psychoneuroendocrinology 2001-05, Vol.26 (4), p.433-439
• Main Authors: Shores, Molly M, Pascualy, Marcella, Lewis, Nancy L, Flatness, David, Veith, Richard C
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Behavioral psychophysiology; Biological and medical sciences; Blood Pressure - drug effects; Double-Blind Method; Epinephrine; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Heart Rate - drug effects; Humans; Kinetics; Male; Middle Aged; Neurotransmission and behavior; Norepinephrine; Norepinephrine - blood; Norepinephrine kinetics; Placebos; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor; Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors - administration & dosage; Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors - pharmacology; Sertraline; Sertraline - administration & dosage; Sertraline - pharmacology; Sympathetic nervous system; Sympathetic Nervous System - drug effects; Sympathetic Nervous System - physiology
• ISSN: 0306-4530; 1873-3360
• DOI: 10.1016/S0306-4530(01)00002-6

Increased sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity has been associated with stress, major depression, aging, and several medical conditions. This study assessed the effect of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), sertraline, on sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity in healthy subjects. Twelve healthy volunteers participated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, norepinephrine (NE) kinetic study, in which the effects of sertraline on SNS activity were ascertained by determining NE plasma concentrations and NE plasma appearance rates and clearance rates in sertraline or placebo conditions. Subjects received 50 mg of sertraline or placebo for two days and then one week later underwent the same protocol with the other drug. By single compartmental analysis, plasma NE appearance rates were significantly lower in the sertraline compared to the placebo condition (0.26±0.10 vs 0.40±0.23 μg/m 2/min; P=0.04). Our study found that the net effect of short-term SSRI treatment is an apparent suppression of SNS activity as indicated by a decreased plasma NE appearance rate in the sertraline condition. If this preliminary finding can be extended to long-term treatment of patients, this could have significant therapeutic relevance for treating depression in elderly patients or those with cardiac disease, in which elevated SNS activity may exacerbate underlying medical conditions.