To investigate functional changes in the brain serotonin transporter (SERT) after chronic antidepressant treatment, several techniques were used to assess SERT activity, density, or its mRNA content. Rats were treated by osmotic minipump for 21 d with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) paroxetine or sertraline, the selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor desipramine (DMI), ...

OBJECTIVE To review the occurrence, clinical relevance and characteristics of the discontinuation syndrome in children and adolescents who have been on a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) or a serotonin/norepinephrine re-uptake inhibitor (SNRI) for various conditions as an update for physicians prescribing these medications in this population. METHOD An on-line literature search w...

Recent reports of mammoplasia during selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI) therapy suggested that this side effect may be more common than previously reported. We examined 59 women receiving > or = 2 months treatment with an SSRI or venlafaxine for changes in breast size in relation to menopausal status, weight gain and duration of drug therapy. Serum prolactin, estradiol and beta-hCG ...

Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRI) are mood-altering, psychotropic drugs commonly used in the treatment of depression and other psychological illnesses. Many of them are poorly degraded in sewage treatment plants and enter the environment unaltered. In laboratory studies, they have been demonstrated to affect a wide range of behaviours in aquatic organisms. In this study we investi...

Evidence supports the premise that maternal psychological distress adversely affects pregnancy outcomes and that inflammatory markers and placentally-produced corticotrophin-releasing hormone (pCRH) are likely mediating factors. The primary aim of the study was to explore the associations between maternal psychological distress, use of selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, pCRH, and materna...

Depression is a serious illness that affects 20.9 million Americans a year. The most common method of treatment is selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Previous studies have shown that SSRI efficacy is limited. This review of current clinical data combined with statistical analyses has shown that the efficacy of SSRI treatment in adolescents is even more limited. It also has shown t...

Lutz P.-E. Multiple serotonergic paths to antidepressant efficacy. J Neurophysiol 109: 2245–2249, 2013. First published January 23, 2013; doi:10.1152/jn.01093.2012.—Depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide. Brain mechanisms underlying the clinical antidepressant efficacy of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), currently the first-line treatment, remain poorly understood....

Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) is characterized by recurrent acute attacks of fever and serositis, and colchicine is the primary treatment. The pathogenesis of the disease has not been fully understood. Resistance to colchicine remains to be a problem in up to 30% of the patients and yet there seems to be no alternative treatment. In this study our objective was to investigate whether a sel...

Patients are often required to “cross over” between selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) because of cost savings or a lack of the agent’s effectiveness. Pharmacokinetics, serotonin syndrome, and withdrawal symptoms must be considered when therapy is changed. This review analyzes the data available regarding changing from one SSRI to another; however, the findings are inconclusive in ...

PURPOSE Serotonin and the serotonin transporter have been implicated in the development of pulmonary hypertension (PH). Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may have a role in PH treatment, but the effects of SSRI use on right ventricular (RV) structure and function are unknown. We hypothesized that SSRI use would be associated with RV morphology in a large cohort without cardiovascu...