Imipramine and 5HT re-uptake inhibition: a narrative

Abstract

In 1960, the first paper on the pharmacology of imipramine, the 'original' antidepressive drug, was published in the British Journal of Pharmacology (Marshall et al. , 1960). It came from the Department of Clinical Research of the Crichton Royal Hospital, Dumfries, Scotland and not as might have been expected from a university department or the laboratories of a pharmaceutical firm. Under the circumstances, it seems relevant to record for the benefit of scientific historians, the somewhat tortuous chain of events that led to its publication.