Nov 17
The treatment of Depression was revolutionized when Prozac was approved as the first antidepressant by the US FDA in 1987. Antidepressant drugs work on the neurotransmitters of the brain by inhibiting certain signals and increasing the activity of other signals. The popular belief surrounding depression is the Monoamine Hypothesis: that depression is the result of underactivity of monoamines, the specific neurotransmitters that are responsible for different functions in the brain. The effect antidepressants were having on people made sense in this hypothesis: brains with underactivity of monoamines get treated with monoamines, and the result is a happier person. However, a long standing problem with the hypothesis is that antidepressant medication can immediately raise levels of monoamines however the symptoms of depression take on...
Read more...