Depression Symptoms Treatment
Archive for the ‘Prozac (Fluoxetine)’ Category
Uses and Administration
Prevention of the reuptake of monoamine transmitters such as serotonin, which potentiates their action in the brain, appears to be associated with antidepressant activity. SSRIs such as fluoxetine preferentially inhibit the reuptake of serotonin compared with noradrenaline, and have limited direct action at other neurotrans-mitter sites, including muscarinic receptors. They therefore cause fewer antimuscarinic or sedative adverse effects than the tricyclic antidepressants and are less cardiotoxic. Citalopram is the most selective of the SSRIs currently available, whereas paroxetine is the most potent.
SSRIs provide an alternative to the tricyclics for the treatment of depression. As with the tricyclics, it may be several weeks before an antidepressant effect is seen. Once depression has then resolved, maintenance therapy should be continued for at least 4 to 6 months (12 months in the elderly) to avoid relapse on stopping therapy. Patients with a history of recurrent depression should continue to receive maintenance treatment for at least 5 years and possibly indefinitely.
Some Read more [...]
Drug Approvals
(BANM, US Adopted Name, rINNM)
International Nonproprietary Names (INNs) in main languages (French, Latin, Spanish):
Synonyms: Fluoksetiinihydrokloridi; Fluoksetino hidrochloridas; Fluoxetin-hidroklorid; Fluoxetin-hydrochlorid; Fluoxetina, hidrocloruro de; Fluoxetinhydroklorid; Fluoxetini Hydrochloridum; LY-110140; Lilly-103472
BAN: Fluoxetine Hydrochloride [BANM]
USAN: Fluoxetine Hydrochloride
INN: Fluoxetine Hydrochloride [rINNM (en)]
INN: Hidrocloruro de fluoxetina [rINNM (es)]
INN: Fluoxétine, Chlorhydrate de [rINNM (fr)]
INN: Fluoxetini Hydrochloridum [rINNM (la)]
INN: Флуоксетина Гидрохлорид [rINNM (ru)]
Chemical name: (±)-N-Methyl-3-phenyl-3-(α,α,α-trifluoro-p-tolyloxy)propylamine hydrochloride
Molecular formula: C17H18F3NO,HCl =345.8
CAS: 54910-89-3 (fluoxetine); 59333-67-4 (fluoxetine hydrochloride)
ATC code: N06AB03
Read code: y026e
Note. The following terms have been used as 'street names' or slang names for various forms of fluoxetine: Distas; Green and whites; Greens; Limes; Pros; Zacs.
Pharmacopoeias. In Europe and US.
European Pharmacopoeia, Read more [...]
A recent report suggests that the antidepressant drug Prozac (fluoxetine) can be useful in the treatment of bulimia nervosa.
* Researchers at the New York State Psychiatric Institute reviewed findings from 15 controlled studies on the use of anticonvulsants, lithium, fenfluramine and antidepressants in bulimia patients to reach their conclusions; patients in the studies used vomiting to compensate for food intake, were of normal weight, were predominately female, and were young adults.
* Found that only antidepressant therapy – particularly with fluoxetine – was consistently shown to reduce the frequency of binge eating among normal-weight patients with bulimia nervosa.
* Authors suggest that bulimia patients should demonstrate six months of real improvement before any effort is made to discontinue any antidepressant drug therapy.
There has been continuing speculation about a relationship between fluoxetine (Prozac) use and increased suicidal behavior since six cases were reported in 1990, which were followed by several other similar case reports. However, subsequent retrospective analyses of large patient samples, surveys of psychiatrists, and re-analysis of many clinical studies of fluoxetine and other newer antidepressant drugs failed to find such a relationship.
In 1999, Leon et al. reported a prospective, naturalistic 15-year follow-up study from the National Institute of Mental Health Collaborative Depression Study. Analyses of this study focused on data from the time fluoxetine was available in the United States. Since case reports, retrospective studies, randomized clinical trials and surveys of prescribers all have limitations as to applicability to the general population of patients taking fluoxetine (Prozac), this NIMH study, with its close and frequent clinical assessments, offered the unique opportunity to evaluate this issue in a naturalistic treatment setting.
Method
The study focused on 643 subjects who were Read more [...]
Study shows decrease in suicidal thoughts from combined therapy.
A study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) concludes that Prozac is more effective in treating depression in teenagers than so-called talk therapy, but the two combined show the best treatment results. The NIMH has been conducting research to help clarify the potential value and risks of antidepressants and to explore how drug therapy compares with psychotherapy in adolescent depression. The multisite controlled clinical trial — the Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study (TADS) — was launched in the late 1990s to directly compare the efficacy of fluoxetine, cognitive behavior therapy, and a combination of the two. The findings come amid controversy over the use of antidepressants in children and the possible link between antidepressants and the risk of suicide in children and teenagers. In this study of 439 adolescents suffering from moderate to severe depression, 71% responded well to the combined treatment. The researchers also found a dramatic decrease in the amount of suicidal thinking, although Read more [...]
Drug lessens severity of premenstrual dysphoria.
Intermittent dosages of fluoxetine (Prozac/Lilly) given during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle may help women suffering from PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder), studies suggest. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder, a severe variant of premenstrual syndrome, affects 3%-5% of women during their reproductive years, causing depression, anxiety, tension, lability, and irritability. A review of 12 clinical trials led researchers to conclude that, at 20 mg/day, fluoxetine reduces mood symptoms, physical symptoms, and social impairment in women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder and is well-tolerated.