Abstract
There have been considerable advances in neurobiology in recent years that are providing new directions for the development of novel classes of antidepressants. For example, the finding that corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is hypersecreted in depressed patients and mediates certain symptoms of depression has led to the development of specific antagonists of the CRF(1) receptor. These are expected to prove highly effective for the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders. Another related avenue of research is based on evidence that cortisol is integral to the pathophysiology of major depression with psychotic features. One alternative for treating this subtype of affective disorder is, therefore, to block the action of glucocorticoids using a receptor antagonist such as mifepristone. These are just two of the many new directions that will likely lead to the development of antidepressants in the near future.
