NaSSA -
NorAdrenergic and Specific Serotonergic Antidepressant
(Wiki)
Please note:
Dosage equivalents are provided for certain drugs below and
are denoted as unit equivalents, i.e. one unit of drug x is
roughly the equivalent as one unit of drug y, where the
dosage equal to one unit varies.
A relatively new
class of antidepressants, NaSSAs are thought to work by antagonising
the monoamine neurotransmitters serotonin and noradrenaline. The drugs are perceived as having fewer
side effects than TCA or SSRI antidepressants as well as being equally as effective;
in particular, NaSSAs tend not to cause in comparison to
many other antidepressant classes (such as SSRIs) sexual dysfunction.
Mirtazapine
(Wiki)
Brand names:
Avanza®, Axit®, Mirtabene®, Mirtabene®, Mirtaz®, Norset®,
Remergil®, Remergon®, Remeron®, Rexer®, Zispin®
Formula: C17H19N3
Half life: ~ 26 hours (men) or 37 hours
(women)
Single unit dose: Unknown
Recommended outpatient dose: 15mg per day
[Verified]
Maximum outpatient dose: 45mg per day
[Verified]
Introduced in 1996, mirtazapine is chemically a tetracyclic antidepressant but is primarily labelled as an
NaSSA due to its mode of action.
Mirtazapine is a viable first line
treatment amongst drugs; it is effective and boasts a very
small side effect profile, one which mostly lacks
anticholinergic, adrenolytic or serotonin related side effects (as commonly exhibited by the
popular SSRI antidepressant family). It is sedative and as such is a viable
treatment for anxiety and stress related disorders or where insomnia is a symptom of the illness.
Major side effects include sedation (54%), a dry mouth (25%), an increased appetite (17%), weight gain (12%) and dizziness (7%). The most serious
side effect is agranulocytosis but this is very rare indeed; the
chance of experiencing this is approximately one in one
thousand. Mirtazapine is relatively safe in
overdose.