Buspirone and Melatonin Together May Treat Unipolar Depression
The combination of the anti-anxiety drug buspirone (trade name Buspar) and melatonin, a hormone that regulates cycles of sleep and waking, may be effective for depression. Researcher Maurizio Fava and other researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital report that low-dose buspirone (e.g. 15 mg/day) combined with a 3 mg dose of melatonin produced significant antidepressant effects in a six-week study of patients with unipolar depression.
While buspirone is not a potent antidepressant at low doses, the combination of buspirone and melatonin exerted significant effects, leading to better antidepressant response than did either placebo or 15 mg of buspirone alone. Another benefit of the combination is that the low dose of buspirone minimizes side effects.
Buspirone is a serotonin 5HT1A receptor partial agonist, meaning that it produces weak activity at this serotonin receptor, but does not allow it to get overstimulated.
