Prozac: Fluoxetine Essay -- Depression Psychology Medications Essays

Prozac: Fluoxetine Many people, both those who have experienced the illness and families and friends that have helped loved ones cope with it, are familiar with the far reaching effects of depression. Depression is one of the most common medical conditions in United States and around the world. At some point in their lives one in four, approx 18 million, Americans will experience some episode of depression. For people struggling with depression there is help available. Antidepressant medications and other treatments can often make an astonishing difference in depressive symptoms within a few weeks. With the right treatment eight out of ten people improve. Before the 20th century, most people experiencing depression went without diagnosis and treatment. Early, crude forms of sedatives were given to people with severe agitation, anxiety or psychotic depression. Like many other aspects of science there has been an evolutionary growth of the quality and range of availability of help for illnesses like this. The involvement and evolution of anti-depressant drugs is an important role in the fight against depression. In the 1950s the fist generation of anti depressants was discovered. It was not until the 1980s that a newer class of antidepressants revolutionized the treatment of depression. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) were the first of these medications to be available in the United States. Fluoxetine (Prozac) was the first of its kind. (Kramlinger, 2001) Fluoxetine first appeared in scientific literature as Lilly 110410 (the hydrochloride form), a selective serotonin uptake inhibitor, in August 15, 1974 issue of, Life Sciences (Wong,... ...el A., (2001).Understanding Drug Interactions. Proffesional Psychology: Research and Practice, Vol.32, No.5, 543-547: American Physiological Association Inc. Sanchez, Connie, & Hyttel, John, (1999). Comparison of the Effects of Antidepressants and Their Metabolites on Reuptake of Biogenic Amines and on Receptor Bindings. Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology, Vol.19, No.4.Denmark: Plenum Publishing Co. Science Direct, (2003).Fluoxetine inhibits A-type Potassium Currents in Primary Cultured Rat Hippocampal Neurons. Department of Physiology, Medical Research Center, South Korea. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL. Wong, David T., (1995).Prozac (Fluoxetine, Lilly 110140), The First Selective Serotonin Uptake Inhibitor and Antidepressant Drug. Life Sciences, Vol.57, No.5. Indianapolis, In: Elserver Science Ltd.