Dysthymia is a chronic depressive condition in which a person's moods are regularly low. A common feature of dysthymia is the incapacity to experience pleasure and the lack of energy needed to overcome stress. Dysthymia symptoms are sustained by a reduced dopamine transmission between the neurons in the brain. These symptoms can be ameliorated, prevented or reversed by treatment with compounds that will increase dopamine transmission in the brain.
Dopamine Identified
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter naturally produced in our body. Neurons containing dopamine are clustered in the midbrain region of the brain. This chemical messenger plays a crucial role in regulating your mental and physical health. It affects brain processes that control movement and ability to experience pleasure and pain.
Cause
The exact cause of dysthymia is still unknown. This form of chronic depression is thought to be related to brain changes that involve dopamine, an important neurotransmitter that aids your brain in coping with emotions, according to a 1996 study published in "European Psychiatry." According to researchers, the reduced dopamine transmission between the neurons in the mesolimbic part of brain may sustain some of the symptoms of depressive conditions, including dysthymia.
Undertreatment
Despite the frequency and consequences of dysthymia, this chronic and often disabling depressive disorder is often not diagnosed or treated with psychoactive drugs. These facts are confirmed by a study published in 1997 in "The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry." The study involved 410 patients with the mean duration of dysthymia of about 30 years. According to researchers, only 41.3 percent patients had been treated with antidepressants, verifying that they were significantly undertreated. Newer antidepressant agents may alter symptoms of dysthymia.
Treatment
A relatively new European drug called amisulpride is an effective and well-tolerated treatment for dysthymia and dysthymia with major depression, according to a study published in 2002 in "International Clinical Psychopharmacology." Amisulpride selectively blocks dopamine receptors and exclusively acts in the mesolimbic part of the brain. According to researchers, amisulpride only blocks presynaptically, which means that small doses are sufficient to increase dopaminergic neurotransmission in the brain and relieve the symptoms of dysthymia.
References
- World Health Organization: Dysthymia in Neurological Disorders
- University of Texas: Dopamine - A Sample Neurotransmitter
- "European Psychiatry"; Dysthymia and Depressive Disorders: Dopamine Hypothesis; GL. Gessa; March 1996.
- "International Clinical Psychopharmacology"; Dopaminergic Deficit and the Role of Amisulpride in the Treatment of Mood Disorders; S. Montgomery; December 2002.
- "The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry"; The Undertreatment of Dysthymia; R. Shelton et al.; Feb 1997.
