Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) News and Research

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Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) is a type of drug that is used to treat depression. SSRIs slow the process by which serotonin (a substance that nerves use to send messages to one another) is reused by nerve cells that make it. This increases the amount of serotonin available for stimulating other nerves. Also called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor.

SSRI's increase risk of abnormal bleeding

New users of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs, a type of antidepressant) have an increased risk of being admitted to the hospital for abnormal bleeding, according to an article in the November 22 issue of The Archives of Internal Medicine.

23 Nov 2004

Children throughout the world are increasingly being prescribed antidepressants

Children throughout the world are increasingly being prescribed antidepressants and other drugs designed to calm or stimulate the brain, finds research in Archives of Disease in Childhood. Prescription rates increased the most in the UK, the research suggests.

17 Nov 2004

New advice on prescribing anti-depressants

New Zealands's Medsafe has sent a letter to all prescribers informing them about new advice relating to the known risks and benefits associated with prescribing medications to treat depression in young people and in adults.

22 Oct 2004

FDA issues warning on adolescent use of antidepressants

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a Public Health Advisory announcing a multi-pronged strategy to warn the public about the increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior ("suicidality") in children and adolescents being treated with antidepressant medications.

18 Oct 2004

Minor depression is effectively treated with medication

Minor depression, an underdiagnosed and undertreated subset of major depressive disorder that affects upwards of 15 million Americans, can be effectively treated with a drug called a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)

5 Oct 2004

Promising early results in a study of a medication to treat kleptomania

Kleptomania, the guilt-ridden, impulsive stealing of inexpensive and unneeded items, often goes untreated as many who suffer from the disorder hesitate to seek help out of fear of being turned in for their illegal activities.

23 Sep 2004

FDA proposal on antidepressants is premature and may be counterproductive

The recent FDA proposal to force antidepressants to carry warnings about increased suicide risk is the subject of a pair of articles by leading experts in The Annals of Pharmacotherapy.

23 Sep 2004

Current information on the use of antidepressants in pediatric patients

The Food and Drug Administration has issued an update to provide health care providers and patients with the most current information on the use of antidepressants in pediatric patients.

21 Aug 2004

Newborns may be harmed when pregnant women take Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) and other anti-depressants during the third trimester of pregnancy

Health Canada is advising Canadians that newborns may be adversely affected when pregnant women take Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) and other newer anti-depressants during the third trimester of pregnancy.

9 Aug 2004

Molecular pathway in the brain may explain why some patients suffering from inflammatory diseases develop depression

Feeling sick can be "all in the head" for people with inflammatory disorders or for those receiving immunotherapy, say Robert Dantzer and Keith Kelley, professors in the department of animal sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

29 Jul 2004

Study to begin to develop patient guidelines for the use of antidepressant medications in pregnancy and following birth

The University of Arizona department of psychiatry is conducting a first-of-its kind study to begin to develop patient guidelines for the use of antidepressant medications in pregnancy and following birth.

21 Jul 2004

Suicidal behavior is higher in the first month after starting antidepressants

A new study in the current issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that the risk of suicidal behavior is higher in the first month after starting antidepressants.

20 Jul 2004

SSRI addiction is a myth

Up to two out of three people who come off modern anti-depressants suffer short-term withdrawal symptoms including dizziness, nausea and low mood.

10 Jul 2004

Rates of suicide in England and Wales have plummeted in middle-aged and elderly men

British men who hit their mid-fifties today are half as likely to kill themselves as their fathers and grandfathers.

10 Jul 2004

Identification of a naturally occurring genetic difference that controls the production of serotonin in the brain

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have provided the first direct evidence in mice for the role of an enzyme that specifically controls the production of serotonin in the brain.

8 Jul 2004

Physical activity cuts risk of depression in children

Students who increase their physical activity during their middle-school years have fewer symptoms of depression, according to a new study.

1 Jul 2004

Canadians advised of stronger warnings for selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors and other newer anti-depressants

Health Canada is advising Canadians that Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) and other newer anti-depressants, now carry stronger warnings. These new warnings indicate that patients of all ages taking these drugs may experience behavioural and/or emotional changes that may put them at increased risk of self-harm or harm to others.

11 Jun 2004

Gene mutation found in some women may decrease effectiveness of tamoxifen breast cancer drug

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, Indiana University and the University of Michigan have found that some women have a gene mutation that may decrease the effectiveness of tamoxifen, a commonly used breast cancer drug.

7 Jun 2004

Adrenaline packs a powerful punch in the use of antidepressants

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine found that norepinephrine (adrenaline) plays an important role in animals in determining behavioral effects in some of the most commonly prescribed antidepressants, regardless of which biochemical pathway the drug uses to alleviate symptoms of depression.

3 Jun 2004

Ritalin drug used to treat hyperactive children boosts the potency of Parkinson's drug levodopa

A well-known drug used to treat hyperactive children boosts the potency of another drug that reduces Parkinson's disease symptoms, an Oregon Health & Science University study has found.

6 May 2004