Considerable controversy exists regarding the relationship between fluoxetine and the emergence of suicidal ideation. Three cases are presented of patients who were reexposed to fluoxetine after having previously made a serious suicide attempt during fluoxetine treatment. All three patients developed severe akathisia during retreatment with fluoxetine and stated that the development of the akat...

Rigorous data regarding fetal central nervous system (CNS) exposure after antidepressant exposure are sparse. The magnitude of serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) CNS exposure was measured in three groups of rats using ex vivo autoradiography of the serotonin transporter (SERT): 1) in utero, 2) postnatal clearance after birth, and 3) exposure through lactation. Rats were exposed to one of five S...

BACKGROUND This report presents results from the acute treatment phase of a clinical trial designed to confirm efficacy of a fixed dose of 20 mg of fluoxetine in children and adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD). METHOD After a 3-week screening period, 122 children and 97 adolescents with MDD ( ) were randomly assigned to placebo or fluoxetine. After a 1-week placebo lead-in, fluo...

In the treatment of depression fluoxetine [a selective serotonine reuptake inhibitor (SSRIs)] is a widely used drug in humans. The selectivity, efficacy, side effects and simplicity of dosage contributed to fluoxetine's clinical acceptance. Several psychiatric disorders (many of them responsive to SSRIs) are present during pregnancy; up to 10% of pregnant women fulfill diagnostic criteria for m...

Currently, there is a high prevalence of antidepressant prescription rates within juvenile populations, yet little is known about the potential long-lasting consequences of such treatments, particularly on subsequent responses to drugs of abuse. To address this issue at the preclinical level, we examined whether adolescent exposure to fluoxetine (FLX), a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, ...

The incorporation of peripheral biomarkers in the treatment of major depressive disorders (MDD) could improve the efficiency of treatments and increase remission rate. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) represent an attractive biological substrate allowing the identification of a drug response signature. Using a proteomic approach with high-resolution mass spectrometry, the present stud...

The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) fluoxetine (FLU, Prozac®) is commonly prescribed for depression in pregnant women. This results in SSRI exposure of the developing fetus. However, there are knowledge gaps regarding the impact of SSRI exposure during development. Given the role of serotonin in brain development and its cross-talk with sex hormone function, we investigated effect...