Dimetacrine (brand names Istonil, Istonyl, Linostil, Miroistonil), also known as dimethacrine and acripramine, is a
tricyclic antidepressant
Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) are a class of medications that are used primarily as antidepressants, which is important for the management of depression. They are second-line drugs next to SSRIs. TCAs were discovered in the early 1950s and we ...
(TCA) used in
Europe and formerly in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
for the treatment of
depression.
It has
imipramine
Imipramine, sold under the brand name Tofranil, among others, is a tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) mainly used in the treatment of depression. It is also effective in treating anxiety and panic disorder. The drug is also used to treat bedwetting. ...
-like effects; though, in a
double-blind clinical trial against imipramine, dimetacrine was found to have lower efficacy in comparison and produced more
weight loss and abnormal
liver test
Liver function tests (LFTs or LFs), also referred to as a hepatic panel, are groups of blood tests that provide information about the state of a patient's liver. These tests include prothrombin time (PT/INR), activated partial thromboplastin t ...
s.
Little is known about the
pharmacology
Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous (from within the body) molecule which exerts a biochemica ...
of dimetacrine, but it can be inferred that it acts in a similar manner to other TCAs. If this is indeed the case, dimetacrine may induce severe cardiac toxicity in overdose (a side effect unique to the tricyclic class of antidepressants).
See also
Melitracen
References
Dimethylamino compounds
Tricyclic antidepressants
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