FIASMA antidepressants, such as amitriptyline and desipramine, halt the growth of four different kinds of bacterial pathogens in cell cultures and animal models. The antidepressants have shown to be effective in killing intracellular bacteria in two chlamydia infections, as well as human granulocytic anaplasmosis, a tick-borne disease that attacks white blood cells.
According to researchers, an antidepressant that has been available for more than 50 years could help slow the progression of Parkinson's disease. The drug, nortiptyline, has been shown to stop the growth of alpha synuclein.