Serotonin & Norepinephrine Testing--

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-28-2004
Serotonin & Norepinephrine Testing--
4
Wed, 01-28-2004 - 3:59am
My Mom needs help and I'll do anything to help her win this battle with depression. Have any of our iVillage posters ever heard of a TEST for the quantity of Serotonin and Norepinephrine that the brain may be producing? Since depression seems to be caused by a lack of these chemicals in the brain what research is out there for us to review? Thanks ever so much. --djg, in Tallahassee
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-26-2004
Wed, 01-28-2004 - 11:15am

It's fantastic that you want to help your mother deal with her depression!

AcornLeaves
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-28-2004
Wed, 01-28-2004 - 9:02pm
Thanks Barb. Good to meet you (and the ladies who post on this specific board). The two chemicals mentioned in this post have been identified as significant contributors to all phases of depression. However, there doesn't seem to be any testing developed to determine if the amount of these chemicals are actually present, underactive or overactive in the patient. This seems odd. Modern day medicine and science should have in '04 a way to determine/guage this chemical. What do you say? --djg in Tallahassee.
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-26-2004
Wed, 01-28-2004 - 11:11pm
Research into neurotransmitters has certainly brought some breakthroughs in treatment of depression, as evidenced by the SSRIs -- selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.
AcornLeaves
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-22-2003
Thu, 01-29-2004 - 7:20am
Zoloft is an SSRI

*hugs