Two KU School of Medicine-Wichita faculty psychiatrists are editors of a new handbook on antidepressants that will serve as a resource and guide for researchers, physicians and students around the globe.

"Antidepressants: From Biogenic Amines to New Mechanisms of Action" was edited by Matthew Macaluso, D.O., and Sheldon Preskorn, M.D., both veterans of extensive pharmacological research. It examines medications used to treat major depressive disorder, often called clinical depression. It affects about 1 in 5 people during their lifetimes and costs society an estimated $100 billion a year.

The book came out in June as part of publisher Springer Nature's respected Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology series.

"It's really a soup to nuts overview of antidepressants starting in antiquity, what is the state of affairs now and what's coming down the pike," said Macaluso, an associate professor at the medical school and its assistant dean of research, director of the psychiatry residency program and director of KU Wichita Center for Clinical Research.

For a half century, Macaluso explained, antidepressants solely affected a class of neurotransmitters called biogenic amines that includes serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine. Now, a wide range of new medications, including ketamine, and other approaches are being studied and released.

"These books are meant to help a very broad audience including researchers, Ph.D. students, medical students, practicing physicians and residents," Macaluso said. "Most medical textbooks cover a lot of ground. This is one of the few, if not the only, just on antidepressants. If someone picks up a copy of this book, it will not only help them understand the history of the field but the state of the art right now."

The publisher reached out to Macaluso and Preskorn to edit and assemble the writing team.

"It was an honor to be asked to do this. They were familiar with our clinical trial work and our publication in the area and thought we would have the contacts to put together a significant book," Macaluso said.

Macaluso and Preskorn are also contributors, as are other KU School of Medicine-Wichita faculty. Preskorn, who is a professor at the medical school, authored "Drug Development in Psychiatry: The Long and Winding Road from Chance Discovery to Rational Development," a history of medications from the 1950s onward. Looking at common medications such as Lexapro and Prozac, KU's Dee Brooke Lochmann, D.O., clinical assistant professor, and Tara Richardson, M.D., wrote of "Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors." Macaluso and Tiffany Schwasinger-Schmidt, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor, Internal Medicine clerkship co-director, examined "Other Antidepressants," such as bupropion and trazodone that don't fit into previous classes.

Other authors are national leaders in the field, such as John Rush, principal investigator in the largest study in the history of depression, and Madhukar Trivedi, leader of a major depression research center in Dallas.

"The chapter authors are all people who have done significant research with antidepressants or a significant amount of clinical work where they've used these drugs in practice," Macaluso said. "Practicing physicians and researchers need to understand where antidepressants have come from in the past. Without understanding that, it's very difficult to prescribe antidepressants.

"It's also important to understand where the field is today and where it's going. That helps us better understand our patients, and it helps us better understand and apply new treatments when they come out. I think the book will help practicing clinicians do their jobs better, and it will help students and researchers learn about the field better. And all of that will help patients, which is why we do all this."

The book is available in both hardcover and eBook versions, and individual chapters can be bought as well. For more information, contact Dr. Matthew Macaluso at 316-293-2676 or .