J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 1989; 1:253-262
Copyright © 1989 by American Neuropsychiatric Association
The clinical utility of pharmacological agents that act at serotonin receptors
SJ Peroutka, AJ Sleight, BG McCarthy, PA Pierce, AW Schmidt and CR Hekmatpanah
Department of Neurology, Stanford University, CA 94305.
The past decade has seen important advances in the clinical utility of
serotonergic agents. The putative novel anxiolytic effects of 5-HT1A
partial agonists such as buspirone, the antidepressant effects of selective
serotonin (5-HT) uptake blockers such as fluoxetine, and the unique and
potent antiemetic effects of 5-HT3 antagonists in cancer chemotherapy are
excellent examples of the clinical relevance of selective 5-HT receptor
agents. The increasing ability to modulate serotonergic neurotransmission
through distinct 5-HT receptor subtypes should greatly facilitate the
analysis of 5-HT in both normal and abnormal human brain function.
