Scopolamine is an effective and rapid antidepressant in both unipolar and bipolar depression , working as quickly as 3 days after initial infusion .
OBJECTIVES The cholinergic-adrenergic hypothesis of mania and depression states that depression is characterized by an increase in central cholinergic activity relative to noradrenergic tone .
Scopolamine is a central ly acting competitive inhibitor of the muscarinic cholinergic receptor site .
This review seeks to find all available data investigating scopolamine as an antidepressant .
Scopolamine Produces Larger Antidepressant and Antianxiety Effects in Women Than in Men
Some antidepressant agents generate differential benefit based on gender . Blocking cholinergic muscarinic receptors using scopolamine produces robust and rapid antidepressant effects in males and females combined . This study evaluated if males and females differ in the antidepressant response magnitude following scopolamine administration . A total of 52 male and female out patients meeting criteria for recurrent major depressive or bipolar disorder participated in a double-blind , r and omized , placebo-controlled , crossover clinical trial involving seven i.v . infusions of placebo or scopolamine ( 4 μg/kg ) . Following a single-blind placebo lead-in , participants entered either a placebo-block/scopolamine-block or a scopolamine-block/placebo-block sequence . Each block included three sessions . Clinical ratings were acquired before each infusion and included the Montgomery – Asberg Depression Rating Scale ( MADRS ) and the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale ( HAM-A ) . A treatment group × block interaction ( F=21.0 , p<0.001 ) was observed in MADRS scores across gender , and the reduction was significant by the evaluation following the first scopolamine administration ( F=8.4 , p=0.006 ) . The treatment group × block interaction was also significant in males ( F=3.8 , p=0.043 ) and females ( F=35.6 , p<0.001 ) separately . A block × gender interaction ( F=7.4 , p=0.009 ) indicated that the response magnitude was larger in women . The treatment × block interaction was significant for the HAM-A across gender ( F=12.0 , p<0.001 ) , and was significant for females ( F=24.9 , p<0.001 ) but not for males ( F=1.3 , p=0.30 ) . When comparing the baseline block to study end , the block × gender interaction ( F=12.6 , p=0.001 ) showed that the antianxiety response was greater in women . Men and women show a rapid antidepressant response  following scopolamine , but the magnitude of response is larger in women than in men
Scopolamine is an effective and rapid antidepressant in both unipolar and bipolar depression , working as quickly as 3 days after initial infusion .
OBJECTIVES The cholinergic-adrenergic hypothesis of mania and depression states that depression is characterized by an increase in central cholinergic activity relative to noradrenergic tone .
Scopolamine is a central ly acting competitive inhibitor of the muscarinic cholinergic receptor site .
This review seeks to find all available data investigating scopolamine as an antidepressant .