Peptides and Psychiatry, Part 3: Substance P and Serendipity: Novel Psychotropics Are a Possibility

Progress in psychopharmacology is largely the story of serendipitous clinical observations followed by controlled clinical trials. The most recent chapter in this story is the unexpected finding of antidepressant properties for a substance P antagonist. Scientific rationale predicts that such agents should be blockers of neurogenic inflammation or pain, but clinical testing for these actions has been disappointing.