Selective serotonin reuptake Prozac

Altered removal of a neurotransmitter from the synaptic cleft. The third mechanism by which drugs may alter synaptic activity involves changes in neurotransmitter reuptake or degradation. A very well known example of a drug in this category is Prozac (fluoxetine), which is used to treat depression. The complete etiology is unknown, but it is widely accepted that depression involves a deficiency of monoamine neurotransmitters (e.g., norepinephrine and serotonin) in the CNS. Prozac, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, prevents removal of serotonin from the synaptic cleft. As a result, the concentration and activity of serotonin are enhanced. 

Many psychoactive drugs act to alter neurotransmitter functions either through effects on their synthesis, metabolism or reuptake or by directly affecting the receptors for naturally occurring compounds. For example, drugs such as prozac increase serotoniner-gic activity by selective serotonin reuptake inhibition (SSRI). 

A breakthrough in the treatment of major depression was the discovery of fluoxetine, marketed as Prozac. Fluoxetine has a mechanism of action similar to that of imipramine with an important exception. It is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, an SSRI. This strongly suggests that, in some sense, the symptoms of major depression result from a deficit in serotonin specifically. By inhibiting its reuptake from the synapse, the activity of serotonin is enhanced. Two other important drugs for major depression, sertraline (Zoloft) and paroxetine (Paxil), among several others,... 

Other Antidepressants. Antidepressant refinements for the next 30 years primarily consisted of the development of new TCAs. However, in 1988, a novel antidepressant class, the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), was introduced in the United States. The chief innovation of the SSRIs was that they afforded the comparable effectiveness of the TCAs with fewer side effects and minimal toxicity. The debut of the SSRIs coincided with the reworking of the nosology of the anxiety disorders in DSM-III and DSM-IV. As a result, the SSRIs have been studied extensively in each of the respective anxiety disorders and in many cases have obtained FDA approval for the treatment of one or more of these anxiety syndromes. The SSRIs currently available in the United States include citalopram (Celexa), escitalo-pram (Lexapro), fluoxetine (Prozac), fluvoxamine (Luvox), paroxetine (Paxil), and sertraline (Zoloft). 

The TCAs were once widely used to treat depression in brain-injured patients, but they have been replaced as first-line treatments by the so-called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) including citalopram (Celexa), fluoxetine (Prozac), fluvoxamine (Luvox), paroxetine (Paxil), sertraline (Zoloft), and, most recently. 

It is of note that Hypericum, often described as the natural Prozac, has the opposite effect of fluoxetine— and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in general—on the CYP system. Fluoxetine inhibits several CYP isoenzymes, potentially resulting in increased blood levels of drugs metabolized through this pathway (See Chapter 22). 

Structure is also essential in complex biological molecules. A lot of medicines used for psychiatric illnesses such as depression rely on their ability to interact with certain proteins in the brain. For instance, a class of antidepressants—medications that alleviate the symptoms of depression—act on proteins involved with the collection (reuptake) of the chemical serotonin, and they are known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). This class of antidepressants includes Prozac and Zoloft. Earlier medications were also effective and are still sometimes used though they produce a number of side effects, such as dietary problems. Although an SSRI can also generate potentially dangerous side effects, psychiatrists tend to observe these effects less often. (Brain chemistry is the subject of chapter 3.)... 

Tricyclic antidepressants are still prescribed today, but some patients experience side effects such as dry mouth, blurry vision, constipation, and other uncomfortable conditions. Other antidepressants have since been found that induce fewer side effects. One of the most popular is fluoxetine, which is marketed under the trade name Prozac. This drug, along with Zoloft and other antidepressants, are known to inhibit reuptake proteins specifically for serotonin. As a result, these drugs are called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs. Although some concerns have appeared because of a possible risk of suicide in young patients who take Prozac, these drugs are commonly prescribed and have proved highly effective in millions of patients. 

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as fluoxetine (Prozac) begin to be used as antidepressants. These medications are generally effective and have fewer side effects than earlier drugs. 

Over the next 20 years, the benzodiazepines, TCAs, MAOIs, and beta-blockers were used to treat anxiety disorders. By the mid-1980s, up to 10% of all Americans were taking a benzodiazepine. In 1988, fluoxetine (Prozac) was introduced by Eli Lilly as the first selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) for the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders. Its success led to the development of several other SSRI drugs. Today, these drugs are the first line of drug treatment for most anxiety disorders. 

A growing number of drugs are used that affect the many neurotransmitters in the brain benzodiazepines and others act on GABAergic transmission antidepressants, such as monoamine oxidase inhibitors and tricyclic antidepressants, are thought to increase the concentration of transmitter amines in the brain and so elevate mood—these will also act at peripheral nerve terminals, so interactions with them are a combination of peripheral and central actions. Levodopa (L-dopa) increases central as well as peripheral dopamine, and the newer class of psychoactive drugs, the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) of which the ubiquitous fluoxetine (Prozac) is best known, act in a similar way on serotonergic pathways. 

The older generation of drags are less desirable than the new selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, because they have many actions in the body other than their antidepressant effect. Prozac (fluoxetine hydrochloride) is among this group. Other trade names in this group are Celexa, Paxil, and Zoloft. 

If the patient has a pre-existing mood disorder, such as depression or anxiety disorder, antidepressant medication may also be prescribed. Studies have shown that the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as fluoxetine (Prozac) and sertraline (Zoloft) are effective in people with bulimia and anorexia. These medications reduce depression by increasing levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter. 

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI s) like Prozac are used to treat many psychiatric disorders ranging from intermittent explosive disorder, to obsessive-compulsive disorder, to major depression and panic disorder (1), even though these disorders differ in their behavioral expression. How does one drug class treat these disparate disorders ... 

Amitriptyline is usually the treatment of choice for neuropathic pain. Some selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as fluoxetine (Prozac ),paroxetine (Paxil ),sertraline (Zoloft ), and clomipramine (Anafranil ) can be used, but they don t appear to be as effective as TCAs. The doses for TCAs in treating neuropathic pain are usually lower than those for treating depression, and the drugs usually start to take effect more quickly in relieving pain than they do in relieving depression. It is interesting that people who suffer from chronic pain often experience symptoms of depression, so TCAs can benefit these people by helping to ease not only their pain but also their depressed mood. 

Fluoxetine (Prozac /Lilly), paroxetine (Paxil /GlaxoSmithKilne), and sertraline (Zoloft /Pfizer) are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and are useful in the treatment of depression. These agents potentiate the pharmacological actions of the neurotransmitter serotonin by preventing its reuptake at presynaptic neuronal membranes. In addition to its SSRI properties, venlafaxine (EfFexor /Wyeth-Ayerst) also appears to be a potent inhibitor of neuronal norepinephrine reuptake and a weak inhibitor of dopamine reuptake thereby enhancing the actions of these neurotransmitters as well. Venlafaxine is indicated for use in anxiety and depression. 

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) Escitalopram (Lexapro) Eluoxetine (Prozac) Paroxetine (Paxil) Sertraline (Zoloft)... 

Thanks to the Prozac revolution of the 1980s and 1990s, a majority of people in America know someone who has used antidepressants. Over 34 million people in the United States have been issued prescriptions for Prozac or another selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). In other words, one American in ten has used... 

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) A relatively new group of medicines that have been used successfully to treat emotional and behavioral problems such as depression, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder ((XID), bulimia, and posttraumatic stress disorder in adults. These medications are now being used to treat the same types of behavior in children. Some examples of SSRIs include Prozac (fluoxetine), Zoloft (sertraline), Luvox (fluvoxamine), and Paxil (paroxetine). 

It is a member of a class of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI). By inhibiting the reuptake, Prozac effectively increases the level of serotonin, relieving the s)rmptoms of depression. 

A mechanism for altering synaptic availability of 5-HT is inhibition of presynaptic reaccumulation of neuronally released 5-HT. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs e.g., fluoxetine [PROZAC]) potentiate and prolong the action of 5-HT released by neuronal activity. Effects of 5-HT-active drugs, like the SSRIs, in anxiety and depressive disorders strongly suggest an effect of 5-HT in the neurochemical mediation of these disorders. SSRIs are the most widely used treatment for endogenous depression (see Chapter 17). 

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