alstriolAlstriol is a potent, orally active, rapidly-acting antidepressant with exceptional effects on hippocampal neurons with no toxic effects.

Depression is the most frequently diagnosed psychiatric disorder. The problem of treatment resistance is augmented by another issue in the clinical management of major depressive disorder, which is the long delay in the antidepressant response. All antidepressant drugs currently approved for the treatment of depression require weeks of continuous application to provide relief from the symptoms. Due to the high risk of suicide during the long initial treatment period, there is intensive research on significantly shortening the antidepressant response. Recent clinical trials with ketamine confirm that alleviating depressive symptoms within a few hours is indeed possible, by applying a single dose of ketamine. However, intravenous administration and the severe side effects of ketamine, such as amnesia or psychosis, make this particular drug inappropriate for therapy, especially for longer period of time.

Pharmacological strategies that have rapid onset (within hours or days) of sustained antidepressant effects would therefore have an enormous impact on patient care.

Alstriol developed at Avidin increases/restors the number of hippocampal spine synapses, therefore might elevate mood and provide fast relief from depressive symptoms. Among various steroid hormones and monoaminergic antidepressants, Alstriol is the most potent and rapid synaptogenic agent we have ever encountered, emerging as an excellent candidate for antidepressant studies.

The application of Alstriol in neuropsychiatric disorders was patented in 2010 and submitted to PCT in June, 2011.