Page "Mirtazapine" Paragraph 56

Similarly to many other antidepressants, mirtazapine has been found to have antinociceptive properties in mice.

However, unlike most other antidepressants, though similarly to venlafaxine, these effects are mostly mediated through downstream modulation of the endogenous opioid system, of which in the case of mirtazapine the μ-opioid and κ < sub > 3 </ sub >- opioid receptors are mainly involved.

Interestingly, while virtually all antidepressants differ little in their maximal effectiveness in the treatment of major depression, mirtazapine and venlafaxine have demonstrated superior efficacy in treating severe types of depression such as psychotic depression and treatment-resistant depression.

It has been suggested that this may be due to their unique influence on the opioid system, which is a property that has been hypothesized to somehow give them an advantage over other antidepressants in cases of severe depressive symptomatology.