DESIGN: Review of data from articles identified in a Medline search, meeting presentations, and independent market research that are relevant to the costs associated with treating depression. Studies were included if they compared depression treatment costs with tricyclic antidepressants to those with one of the leading selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or if they compared treatme...

Antidepressant drugs are widely recommended for the treatment of depressive disorders, and finding the "right dose for the right patient" is an important issue. Whatever antidepressant is prescribed, a proportion of adult patients with major depression fail to respond satisfactorily to adequate first-line treatment. A frequent strategy for patients with insufficient response to an initial antid...

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a complex condition resulting from numerous genetic and physiologic factors. This article reviews the neurochemical mechanisms underlying MDD, summarizes recent genetic findings, and examines the efficacy of various treatments. The norepinephrine (NE) and serotonin (5-HT) pathways affect several areas of the nervous system that are disrupted in MDD, and agents...

BACKGROUND Stroke is the major cause of adult disability. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have been used for many years to manage depression. Recently, small trials have demonstrated that SSRIs might improve recovery after stroke, even in people who are not depressed. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are the least biased way to bring together data from several trials. Given ...

Interferon-alpha (IFN) is widely used in the treatment of certain cancers and viral infections, including hepatitis C (HCV). Unfortunately, depression is a common side effect of IFN therapy, affecting approximately a third of HCV patients receiving IFN therapy. Studies have shown that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) can effectively treat IFN-induced depression in only 63-75% of ...

The increase in serotonin (5-HT) neurotransmission is considered to be one of the most efficacious medical approach to depression and its related disorders. The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) represent the most widely antidepressive drugs utilized in the medical treatment of depressed patients. Currently available SSRIs include fluoxetine, sertraline, paroxetine, fluvoxamine, c...

Exposure of the general population to a 1:4 lifetime risk of disabling anxiety has inspired generations of fundamental and clinical psychopharmacologists, from the era of the earliest benzodiazepines (BZ) to that of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and related compounds, eg, the serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). This comprehensive practical review summ...

The use of antidepressant medication in the general population has increased considerably in past decades, in particular the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). This increase in SSRI use may be explained by a broadened indication of SSRI, a different adverse effect profile, and a lower toxicity compared with classic tricyclic antidepressants. Yet, despite a more favorable ad...