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Drugs like lorpiprazole that fit in the category of serotonin antagonists and reuptake inhibitors present a wide variety of effects when administered. They inhibit serotonin receptors like 5-HT2A as well as prevent the reuptake of serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine. Additionally, they antagonize some adrenergic receptors. This diverse functional profile allows lorpiprazole to have a large therapeutic spectrum from symptom control as an adjuvant of other drugs to control of depressive syndromes as a monotherapy.

Lorpiprazole is a serotonin antagonist and reuptake inhibitor thus, its activity is performed by antagonizing the 5-HT2A and the 5-HT2C serotoninergic receptors as well as the alpha1 and alpha2 adrenergic receptors, H1 histaminergic receptors and at high doses, inhibiting the SERT serotonin transporter.

After oral administration, the serotonin antagonist and reuptake inhibitors are rapidly absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract. This absorption can be slow down depending on the type of diet. The maximum plasma concentration of this kind of drugs occurs approximately 1 hour after administration.

The elimination of drugs that fit in the category of serotonin antagonists and reuptake inhibitors like lorpiprazole is expected to have a biphasic profile in which most of the metabolized drug should be disposed of by the urine.

The serotonin antagonists and reuptake inhibitors as lorpiprazole are quickly distributed through the blood-brain-barrier getting concentrated in the brain to even higher levels than the ones found in plasma.