Trimipramine is unique in that it is an exception and produces antidepressant effects without compromising or otherwise affecting REM sleep. Even long-term treatment with trimipramine for up to 2 years has not been found to suppress REM sleep. In addition, trimipramine has been found to decrease nocturnal cortisol levels to normal and to normalize cortisol response in depressed patients; hence, it normalizes the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, whereas imipramine and other antidepressants tend to increase nocturnal cortisol secretion.In clinical studies, trimipramine has been found in doses of 50 to 200 mg/day to significantly increase sleep efficiency and total sleep time and to decrease waking time for up to 3 weeks in patients with insomnia. It also improved subjectively perceived sleep quality and well-being during daytime. Monitoring of patients upon discontinuation of trimipramine found that it did not cause rebound insomnia or worsening of sleep quality in subjective evaluations of sleep, although objective measurements found total sleep time below baseline in a subset of patients during trimipramine withdrawal. Antidopaminergic activity
Trimipramine is a weak but significant antagonist of the dopamine D1 and D2 receptors, and also binds to the D4 receptor (Ki = 275 nM). Its affinities for various monoamine receptors including the D2 and 5-HT2A receptors closely resemble those of the atypical antipsychotic clozapine. In accordance, high doses of trimipramine have been found to have antipsychotic effects in schizophrenic patients, notably without causing extrapyramidal symptoms, and trimipramine has recently been found to be effective in reducing psychotic symptoms in patients with delusional depression.
Two-thirds of the parent compound breaks down into the active metabolite N-desmethyl-zolmitriptan (183C91), while the remaining one-third separates into the other two inactive metabolites: zolmitriptan N-oxide and an indole acetic acid derivative. It has an elimination half-life of about three hours before it undergoes renal elimination; its clearance is greater than the glomerular filtration rate suggesting that there is some renal tubular secretion of the compound. Economics
Brand names
Zolmitriptan is marketed by AstraZeneca with the brand names Zomig, Zomigon (Argentina, Canada & Greece), AscoTop (Germany) and Zomigoro (France). Economics
In 2008, Zomig generated nearly $154 million in sales.AstraZenecas U.S. patent on Zomig tablets expired on November 14, 2012, and its pediatric exclusivity extension expired on May 14, 2013. The patent in certain European countries has already expired too, and generic drug maker Actavis released a generic version in those countries, starting in March 2012. Legal status
In Russia versions of zolmitriptan, which are not registered in the National registry of medications, may be regarded as narcotic drugs (derivatives of dimethyltriptamine). References
Further reading
MacGregor EA (1998). "Zolmitriptan clinical studies". Drugs Today. 34 (12): 1027–1033. doi:10.1358/dot.1998.34.12.487488. PMID 14743270. External links
"Zolmitriptan". Drug Information Portal. U.S. National Library of Medicine. "Zolmitriptan Nasal Spray". MedlinePlus.