Tetracyclic antidepressants (TeCAs) are a class of antidepressants that were first introduced in the 1970s. They are named after their chemical structure, which contains four rings of atoms, and are closely related to the tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), which contain three rings of atoms.
List of TeCAs
The TeCAs include the following agents:
- Marketed
- Amoxapine (Asendin) â€" sometimes classified as a secondary amine tricyclic antidepressant
- Loxapine (Loxapac, Loxitane, Adasuve) â€" a tetracyclic antipsychotic with antidepressant properties; produces amoxapine as an active metabolite
- Maprotiline (Deprilept, Ludiomil, Psymion)
- Mazindol (Mazanor, Sanorex)
- Mianserin (Bolvidon, Norval, Tolvon)
- Mirtazapine (Remeron, Avanza, Zispin)
- Setiptiline (Tecipul)
- Not marketed
- Aptazapine (CGS-7525A)
- Ciclazindol (WY-23,409)
- Esmirtazapine (ORG-50,081)
- Oxaprotiline (C 49-802 BDA)
Pharmacology
Binding profiles
The affinities (Kd (nM)) of a selection of TeCAs have been compared below at an assortment of binding sites:
The selected ligands act as antagonists (or inverse agonists depending on the site in question) at all receptors listed and as inhibitors of all transporters listed.
References
