Volume 30, Issue 171, May 2026

Vortioxetine - a new antidepressant drug with multimodal action – Review of recent studies

Gabriela Krych^1♦, Michał Skóra¹, Bartłomiej Kazimierski¹, Aleksandra Rusak², Joan-na Oklińska¹, Klaudia Jadczak³, Weronika Gniado¹, Dawid Mądry¹

¹Provincial Complex Hospital named after Jędrzej Śniadecki in Białystok, ul. M. Curie-Skłodowskiej 26, 15-950 Białystok, Poland
²The Nicolaus Copernicus Municipal Polyclinical Hospital in Olsztyn, ul. Niepodległości 44, 10-045 Olsztyn, Poland
³University Clinical Hospital in Białystok, ul. M. Curie-Skłodowskiej 26, 15-276 Białystok, Poland

^♦Corresponding author
Gabriela Krych, Provincial Complex Hospital named after Jędrzej Śniadecki in Białystok, ul. M. Curie-Skłodowskiej 26, 15-950 Białystok, Poland

ABSTRACT

Vortioxetine is among the new antidepressant drugs. Unlike traditional antidepressants that focus on a single mechanism of action, it is a multimodal drug that improves cognitive function and has antidepressant and anti-anxiety effects. More recently, it has attracted at-tention for its ability to reduce discomfort in neuropathic pain by modulating descending inhibitory pathways in the spinal cord. Experts recognize vortioxetine as one of the most effective and best-tolerated options. The pharmacodynamic profile and clinical studies of this drug lead researchers to believe that its mechanism of action consists primarily of di-rect modulation of serotonin receptor activity (e.g., 5-HT3, 5-HT7, 5-HT1D, 5-HT1B) and selective inhibition of SERT (serotonin reuptake). Thus, this drug significantly alters the way in which two or more serotonin receptors interact.

Keywords: vortioxetine, depression, cognitive function, neuropathic pain, antidepressants

Medical Science, 2026, 30, e82ms3873

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Published: 07 May 2026