Literature Review On Antidepressant

In 2005 the Center of Disease Control and Prevention 's (CDC’s) National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) tracked Americans using antidepressants for three years. The study concluded in 2008 that more than 1 in 10 Americans ages 12 and older have used an antidepressant drug. This study comes in the wake of a heated debate in the media about the effectiveness of antidepressants treating depression. Last year, antidepressants were the second most commonly prescribed medication, right behind drugs directed to lower cholesterol. With so many people in the United States relying on these drugs, it is easy to question if they are just expensive, overused placebos.

Genetic predisposition is an important part of the formation of mental illnesses. Mental illnesses and depression often onset early in life due to the amount of stress and genetic predisposition. Specifically, the SERT gene regulates serotonin in the body (Parks 30). Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that affects mood, behavior, and memory. A neurotransmitter helps to relay messages to other areas of the body through neurons, nerve cells, that are placed throughout the body. A neurotransmitter either inhibits or excites messages through the body, such as pain or other feelings. The brain produces serotonin, which is then spread throughout the body via the blood vessels. According to David Myers, the formula for depression is a traumatic or important life stressor plus a "variation on a serotonin-controlling gene" (Myers 10). When serotonin production is imbalanced, sleep problems and irritability have a high chance of occurring, which are linked to the onset of depression. Low serotonin levels trigger depression after a traumatic event occurs (Parks 30). When the SERT gene is mutated, the risk for depression increases. Variations in neurotransmitters and the genes that produce them, especially serotonin and the SERT gene, lead to the development of depression when serotonin production is imbalanced or

Should antidepressant drugs be prescribed for children suffering from depression? Depression is a serious mental condition that is characterized by extreme feeling of sadness, worthlessness and hopelessness, fatigue, irritability, loss of appetite, inability to concentrate, and insomnia or excessive sleeping. “One in four young people aged 16 to 24 experience mental health problems during their teenage years, For youths under 14, mental disorders make up 22.6 per cent of the burden of disease. For those aged 15 to 24, almost half (49 per cent) of the estimated burden of disease in young people is due to mental disorders. (Lisa Mayoh) Antidepressant drugs should not be prescribed for children for depression because of rise in suicide, causes

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

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have been prescribed by physicians for many years now. One reason SSRIs are so popular is because of the many mental disorders they can be used for such as anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), phobias, and many more (Weitzel & Jiwanlal, 2001). The four major types of SSRIs that are most commonly used by people with mental disorders are fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil), sertraline (Zoloft), and citalopram hydrobromide (Celexa); SSRIs work on the brain by acting on the reuptake pathway of serotonin (Stone, 2010). There are some advantages for taking SSRIs. One advantage is that SSRIs have fewer side effects than most of the other antidepressant medications such as monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) and tricyclics (Weitzel & Jiwanlal, 2001). Another advantage is that SSRIs have less of a risk of toxicity in overdose (Lane, Baldwin, & Preskorn, 1995). SSRIs are better tolerated than tricyclic antidepressant medication because they cause less sedation and problematic anticholinergic effects. There are also reports indicating that SSRIs have fewer negative effects on the cardiovascular system than tricyclic antidepressants (Edwards, 1992).

Antidepressants are a powerful way for people who suffer from severe depression and anxiety to stay in control of their lives. Unfortunately, many people who take antidepressants also have problems with illicit drug use. And while attending drug rehabilitation is the most effective way to regain control of your life, the question of whether or not you can take your antidepressants while you're there is surprisingly complex.

the drugs used to treat depression is tricyclic antidepressant ( to fra anil and Elavil,the monoamine oxidase inhibitors ).

Herng wad Sworth Longfellow once said that “Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad”.Unfortuately, over 50% people are depressed due to circumstances happening around them. Consequently most of them takes these drug called antidepressant which is used to relieve or prevent depression. However, I strongly agree those antidepressants are dangers to human health and society.

This affects the the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)- a crucial factor in the neurobiology of depression. The hippocampus is rich in BDNF, which is related in neuronal growth, survival and maturation, as well as arborization and synaptic plasticity in the adult brain. Stress suppresses BDNF synthesis in the hippocampus showing low concentrations in depressed patients, correlating with the severity of the depression. The use of antidepressant drugs increase its synthesis and signalling in the hippocampus and PFC. In a post-mortem study of depressed patients at the time of death, there were significant differences between the BDNF concentrations in treated and untreated patients. Antidepressants work by balancing neurotransmitters that affect mood and emotion. The use of antidepressants and going to therapy are the most effective ways to treating depression. Weight gain and the feeling of mental numbness is a side effect of antidepressants. Depression can be prevented. Daily exercise, having strong relationships,and watching alcohol intake are ways to prevent depression. Depression is a long term,recurrent condition often taking a chronic course. It is associated with significant morbidity, comorbidity and mortality (suicide and physical illness). In order to achieve and maintain optimum brain function and reduce the risk of recurrence, antidepressant drug treatment full remission is

Depression medications can be dangerous if prescribed without caution. Each medication for depression has its different benefits and side effects; some can even increase the risk of suicide. Treatments for depression vary. Medications tend to work better short-term and therapy more long-term while supplements are effective but have fewer studies than other treatments. According to Emory University, every year, 18.8 million people in the U.S. are diagnosed with depression which makes it a prevalent problem. The university states, depression can put people at risk for suicide: “Two-thirds of people that die by suicide are depressed at the time of their death.” Depression needs to be treated carefully, knowing a life is at stake. If guaranteed

There has been evidence that links antidepressants to the causes of violent outbursts in individuals. This led to my decision in doing my ORT on whether antidepressants have more of a negative effect on the human body rather than the positive effects they are expected to have. This investigation will be carried out by sending various surveys to psychiatrics. These are doctors who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses such as depression. Another survey will be sent to individuals who are currently or were previously on antidepressants.

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)

From the study, different possibilities of the IFN- α caused depression were mentioned. One of them is that IFN-α may caused depression by reducing tryptophan availability which can make IFN-α-induced depression resistant to SSRIs. In addition, levels of serotonin transporter mRNA is increased by treatment with IFN-α (1).

The first step to treating many of these new cases of depression is the prescription and use of antidepressant medication, however this has cause a mass flooding of our society with unnecessary prescription drugs. Due to the ease of treatment, primarily with prescription drugs, and the large range of severity in depression is often over diagnosed, adding to the problem.