ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUGS

DEPRESSION

Depression may be described as feeling sad, blue, unhappy, miserable, or down in the dumps. Most of us feel this way at one time or another for short periods.

Clinical depression is a mood disorder in which feelings of sadness, loss, anger, or frustration interfere with everyday life for a longer period of time.

Symptoms of depression include:
-Low or irritable mood most of the time
-A loss of pleasure in usual activities
-Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
-A big change in appetite, often with weight gain or loss
-Tiredness and lack of energy
-Feelings of worthlessness, self-hate, and guilt
-Difficulty concentrating
-Slow or fast movements
-Lack of activity and avoiding usual activities
-Feeling hopeless or helpless
-Repeated thoughts of death or suicide.
Low self-esteem is common with depression. It is also common to have sudden bursts of anger and a lack of pleasure from activities that normally make you happy, including sex.

The main types of depression include:

-Major depression: to be diagnosed with major depression, you must have five or more of the symptoms listed above for at least 2 weeks. Major depression tends to continue for at least 6 months if not treated. (You are said to have minor depression if you have less than five depression symptoms for at least 2 weeks. Minor depression is similar to major depression except it only has two to four symptoms.)

-Atypical depression: occurs in about a third of patients with depression. Symptoms include overeating and oversleeping. You may feel like you are weighed down and get very upset by rejection.

-Dysthymia: a milder form of depression that can last for years, if not treated.

Other common forms of depression include:

Postpartum depression: many women feel down after having a baby, but true postpartum depression is more severe and includes the symptoms of major depression.

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder: symptoms of depression occur 1 week before your menstrual period and disappear after you menstruate.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD): occurs most often during the fall-winter season and disappears during the spring-summer season. It is most likely due to a lack of sunlight.

Depression may also alternate with mania (known as manic depression or bipolar disorder).

PHARMACOLOGY

1. Tricyclic and related antidepressant drugs:

-Amitriptyline hydrochloride (Triptafen).

-Clomipramine Hydrochloride (Anafranil).

-Dosulepin Hydrochloride (Prothiaden).

-Doxepin (Sinepin).

-Imipramine Hydrochloride.

-Lofepramine.

-Nortriptyline (Allegron).

-Trimipramine (Surmontil).

Related antidepressant drugs: Mianserin Hydrochloride and Trazodone Hydrochloride (Molipaxin).

2. Monoamine-oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs):

-Phenelzine (Nardil).

-Isocarboxazid.

-Tranylcypromine.

-Reversible MAOIs: Moclobemide (Manerix).

3. Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors: 

-Citalopram (Cipramil).

-Escitalopram (Cipralex).

-Fluoxetine (Prozac).

-Fluvoxamine maleate (Faverin).

-Paroxetine (Seroxat).

-Sertraline (Lustral).

4. Other antidepressant drugs:

-Duloxetine (Cymbalta, Yentreve).

-Flupentixol (Fluanxol).

-Mirtazapine (Zispin SolTab).

-Reboxetine (Edronax).

-Tryptophan (Optimax).

-Venlafaxine (Efexor).

Sources:

-http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003213.htm\

-BNF57