Most individuals who suffer from insomnia either self-treat with nonprescription sleep aids (e.g., antihistamines, herbal remedies), use alcohol as a sedative, or take no drug therapy at all. For those who do seek professional help (approximately one-third of insomniacs), the majority receive physician-prescribed benzodiazepine or non-benzodiazepine sedative hypnotics to treat their insomnia. Such hypnotic agents… Read More »
Tricyclic antidepressants entered the market in the 1960s after the Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors but quickly lost their popularity when the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors entered the market. Although tricyclic antidepressants are as effective as the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and serotonin/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors in treating most forms of depression, they have the potential for cardiotoxicity… Read More »
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors The seven available agents in the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor class are citalopram (Lund-beck’s Cipramil, Forest Laboratories’ Celexa, generics) and its single enan-tiomer, escitalopram (Lundbeck’s Cipralex, Forest’s Lexapro); paroxetine (GSK’s Paxil/Seroxat, Novartis’s Frosinor, generics); the controlled-release version of paroxetine (GSK’s Paxil CR); sertraline (Pfizer’s Zoloft); fluoxetine (Eli Lilly’s Prozac, generics); and… Read More »
Pharmacological treatments have gained popularity during the last 50 years as a method of treatment intervention for depression as well as for many other psychological disorders. They have been proven effective in ameliorating the symptoms for a large percentage of depressed individuals and are now the most common form of treatment for depression. The constraints… Read More »