CLINICAL QUESTION Are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) associated with better recovery after stroke? BOTTOM LINE SSRIs may be associated with improved recovery after stroke, even in persons without depression. However, much of the evidence is of poor quality. Large, high-quality trials are needed to evaluate the validity of the current evidence and improve precision of estimate...

OVERVIEW Many changes and therapeutic advances have occurred in the treatment of depression in recent years, most notably the availability of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class of agents, followed by the introduction of escitalopram oxalate (LexaproTM, Forest), the first agent in what is known as the “second generation” of SSRIs. However, because of the higher acquisition c...

BACKGROUND This is a substantive update of a previous review. Severe premenstrual syndrome (PMS) affects between 3% to 5% of women of reproductive age. Severe PMS is classified under the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are increasingly used as front-line therapy for PMS. A systematic...

The administration of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) typically used as antidepressants increases alcohol consumption after an alcohol deprivation period in rats. However, the appearance of this effect after the treatment with selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) has not been studied. In the present work we examined the effects of a 15-d treatment with the SNRI at...

Clinical research has demonstrated differential efficacy of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (NRIs), which may relate to differential acute effects these medications have on emotional brain processes. Here we present findings from a Multi-Level Kernel Density Analysis meta-analysis that integrates and contrasts activations from disparate fMR...

BACKGROUND Pharmacological and postmortem investigations suggest that patients with major depressive disorder have alterations in function or density of brain serotonin1A (5-HT1A) receptors. The aim of the present study was to use positron emission tomography with the selective 5-HT1A receptor antagonist [11C]WAY-100635 to measure 5-HT1A receptor binding in depressed patients before and during ...

BACKGROUND Depression is an independent risk factor for myocardial infarction (MI). Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may reduce this risk through attenuation of serotonin-mediated platelet activation in addition to treatment of depression itself. METHODS AND RESULTS case-control study of first MI in smokers 30 to 65 years of age was conducted among all 68 hospitals in an 8-coun...

Venlafaxine norepinephrine reuptake dopamine reuptake BRAINSTORMS is a monthly section of The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry aimed at providing updates of novel concepts emerging from the neurosciences that have relevance to the practicing psychiatrist. From the Clinical Neuroscience Research Center in San Diego and the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California San Diego. Reprint...