Paroxetine treatment and the prolactin response to sumatriptan

We studied the effect of the selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI), paroxetine (20 mg daily for 16 days) on the neuroendocrine, cardiovascular, thermic and subjective responses to the 5-HT1D receptor agonist, sumatriptan (6 mg, SC). Compared to placebo injection, sumatriptan lowered plasma prolactin and oral temperature and increased diastolic blood pressure. While paroxetine increased baseline prolactin concentration, it had no effect on any of the responses to sumatriptan. In addition, paroxetine did not alter concentrations of sumatriptan in plasma. No adverse reactions resulted from the combination of sumatriptan and paroxetine. Our findings suggest that combined treatment with sumatriptan and paroxetine in the doses used in this study is not necessarily contra-indicated. In addition, short-term SSRI treatment may not desensitise 5-HT1D autoreceptors in humans.