Imipraminoxide

Legal statusLegal status Pharmacokinetic dataElimination half-lifeIntravenous: 1.8 hours^[2]IdentifiersCAS NumberPubChem CIDChemSpiderUNIIKEGGChEMBLCompTox Dashboard (EPA)ECHA InfoCard100.027.188 Chemical and physical dataFormulaC₁₉H₂₄N₂OMolar mass296.414 g·mol⁻¹

Imipraminoxide (brand names Imiprex, Elepsin), or imipramine N-oxide, is a tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) that was introduced in Europe in the 1960s for the treatment of depression.^[3][4][5][6]

Imipraminoxide is both an analogue and a metabolite of imipramine, and has similar effects.^{[7][8][9][10]} However, in clinical trials, imipraminoxide was found to have a faster onset of action, slightly higher efficacy, and fewer and less marked side effects, including diminished orthostatic hypotension and anticholinergic effects like dry mouth, sweating, dizziness, and fatigue.^{[7][8][9][10][11][12]}

Imipraminoxide's pharmacology has not been well elucidated, but based on its very close relationship with imipramine, it likely acts as a serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor and serotonin, adrenenaline, histamine, and muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist, though with weaker antiadrenergic and anticholinergic actions.^[11][12]

Imipraminoxide has been said to be a prodrug of imipramine.^[13]

See also

• Amitriptylinoxide

References