In recent years, prescriptions for antidepressant agents have increased substantially. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have gradually supervened tricyclic agents as drugs of choice because of their lower toxicity and generally better tolerability. They cause less sedation with fewer anticholinergic effects and are now widely used for the treatment of many conditions including de...

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 ...

Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent psychiatric disorders. There is a high comorbidity between anxiety (especially generalized anxiety disorders or panic disorders) and depressive disorders or between anxiety disorders, which renders treatment more complex. Current guidelines do not recommend benzodiazepines as first-line treatments due to their potential side effects. Selective serotonin ...

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...

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...

BACKGROUND Tricyclic antidepressants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors have been reported to induce the symptoms of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD) or to exacerbate REM sleep without atonia. With this case report, we found an association between typical RBD and duloxetine, a serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor. CASE PRESENTATION We present a case of a 6...