Depression And Antidepressant Analysis

Chronic intake, the delayed onset of action, drug resistance and numerous side effects force the researchers to look for the new, safe antidepressant strategies (1, 2) with rapid onset and longer time of action.

Cuijpers (2017) identifies that over the last 40 years there have been approximately 500 randomized trials looking at the efficacy of treating depression with psychological methods. The studies chosen provide insight into the lack of efficacy of antidepressant medication therapy, as well as the effectiveness of psychological therapies. The evidence provided in the studies appears to support one another.

It’s simply easy to discard a young adult with a hint of depression or anxiety in society’s eyes. In fact, depression is a fickle box, a diverse illness, with different prior causes and abstract theories (Mukherjee, New York Times Magazine, 2012). Most adults might be under a false impression that it’s a normal for children to have severe mood swings. As for the adults who have worked under the physiatric/medical field, knew professionally that wasn’t the case. Antidepressants is the key ingredient and solution for these young adults to handle for their own mental problems. Con: However, The U.S Food and Drug Administration slapped “black box” warning on antidepressants, with even a small minority chance of increased suicide risk, behind the agency's strongest safety alert (Olson, Omaha World-Herald, 2005).

Antidepressants have a history of causing violent side effects, including suicide and homicide in those consuming the prescribed drugs. Many antidepressants that are prescribed to those with a mental illness come packaged with a warning label that reads: “New or worsening depression; thinking about harming or killing yourself, or planning or trying to do so; extreme worry; agitation; panic attacks; difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep; aggressive behavior; irritability; acting without thinking; severe restlessness; and frenzied abnormal excitement." This warning label is a most know for school officials who are aware of students dealing with a mental illness. Statistics show that five of the top 10 most violence-inducing drugs were found

This can make it difficult to tell precisely which drug is affecting an individual’s emotions. Doctors do, however, have a pretty good idea of what each narcotic can do due to research in individuals that have taken one drug at a time.

Research Question: Are antidepressants being over prescribed, if so what other options do doctors have and what should they be considering?

Depression Literacy and Attitudes towards Antidepressants: Participants will complete three short surveys and read an informational pamphlet about depression. Assessments used in this study are a demographics survey, a knowledge of depression questionnaire, and an attitudes towards antidepressants survey. This study will take approximately 15-20 minutes. If you are interested in participating please contact Marissa Elizardo at (267)664-3822 or melizardo@bryant.edu

Does cognitive-behavioral therapy work just as well as antidepressants when treating depression? How we perceive our depression is what helps to determine the type of treatment necessary. Antidepressants treat the common symptoms of depression rather than the condition while therapy helps change the thought process so the disease is cured in the end. Many studies are done to provide necessary information to what the answer to this question should be. The following articles provided studies that explained the effects of treatment with medication, with therapy, or a combination of both.

Other clinical studies have implicated fluoxetine’s effects on serotonin neurotransmitters, based on the fact that serotonin is synthesized from the essential amino acid tryptophan. Patients taking fluoxetine who were in remission from major depression were given a special diet which was tryptophan-free. This rapidly decreased plasma serotonin levels, and after a short period of time (as little as 30 minutes) many of the patients began to have signs of specific depressive symptoms. Later, the reappearance of more general depressive symptoms were observed in a majority of the patients. Thus it was shown that fluoxetine has a profound effect on the neurotransmitter serotonin, and decreased

This is an accurate representation of medication for depression. It does not make you want to live, it does not fix your thinking, it just makes you functional. It allows you to do things you wouldn’t usually be able to, and maybe after a while you will be able to function on your own.

The leading theory explaining the biology of depression is the monoamine hypothesis of depression. (Stahl, 3) This theory suggests that depression is caused by a deficiency in one or another of the three neurotransmitters: serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine. The theory was formulated after the accidental discovery of the original drugs for depression and psychosis, much in the same way Fleming discovered penicilin.

Common types of medication include POM (prescription only medication) which can be obtained from a pharmacist only if prescribed by a doctor. These could include anti-depressants which are very common. Anti-depressants work by selecting receptors in the brain and controls levels of serotonin. They come under the group 'SSRIS' (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors). Over the counter medicines (OTC) may include things like paracetamol or ibuprofen, which are everyday painkillers. Something like paracetamol inhibits the production of pain and inflammation-causing chemicals called prostaglandins.

The linkage of serotonin to depression has been known for the past five years. From numerous studies, the most concrete evidence of this connection is the decreased concentration of serotonin metabolites like 5-HIAA (5-hydroxyindole acetic acid) in the cerebrospinal fluid and brain tissues of depressed people. If depression, as suggested, is a result of decreased levels of serotonin in the brain, pharmaceutical agents that can reverse this effect should be helpful in treating depressed patients. Therefore, the primary targets of various antidepressant medications are serotonin transports of the brain. Since serotonin is activated when released by neurons into the synapse, antidepressants function at the synapse to enhance serotonin activity. Normally, serotonin's actions in the synapse are terminated by its being taken back into the neuron then releases it at which point "it is either recycled for reuse as a transmitter or broken down into its metabolic by products and transported out of the brain." As a result, antidepressants work to increase serotonin levels at the synapse by blocking serotonin reuptake (2).

(3) While successful drug therapies which act on neurotransmitters in the brain imply that depression is a neurobiological condition (4), the fact that such medications do not help about 20 percent of depression-sufferers seems to show that not all depression is due to such imbalances. Rather, depression is not caused by one single factor; it is most often caused by many different things. Genetics, biochemical factors, medicines and alcohol, developmental and other external factors, and relationships, marriage and children all have effect on the development of clinical depression. (5) The strongest hypotheses on the pathways to depression are in decreases in the activity of specific neurotransmitters, or the overactivity of certain hormonal systems. (3)

Depression have become a major problem in our society today. People who haven’t experience depression will not understand how it feel and what it can do to a person. Many people also doesn’t understand what depression is, or how it can related to suicidal ideation. In fact, studies have documented that the majority of young suicide victims had depression at the time of death and most suicide survivors were diagnosed with symptoms of clinical depression at the time of their attempt (Mojs, Biederman, Głowacka, Strzelecki, Ziemska, Samborski 2015). It can affect anyone, from young adolescents to college students to the elderly people. There are many reasons that can make someone have major depression. Such as financial problems, family problems, social problems, school, work, etc. These stressors in our daily life can cause anxiety which can increase our stress level significantly, which then can lead to depression. A research said that anxiety disorder have a high comorbidity with depression and that anxiety occur prior to the onset of depressive disorders in many individuals (Batterham, Christensen, Calear 2013). People who experience depression must find way to cope with depression and know how to get help in order to prevent suicidal ideation. The people surroundings, friends and family, must also find ways to recognize the symptoms of depression, and show understandings in order to help those suffering. This research project will help people understand more about