Zoloft News and Research

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Zoloft is a drug used to treat depression. It is a type of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). Also called sertraline.

Researchers study the effects of antidepressants to identify the least harmful drugs

About one in ten women in Québec will suffer from depression during pregnancy. Without treatment, the illness carries risks for both mother and child.

8 Jan 2020

Black mothers get less treatment for postpartum depression than other moms

Portia Smith’s most vivid memories of her daughter’s first year are of tears. Not the baby’s. Her own.

6 Dec 2019

Interaction between antidepressants and opioid pain medication contributes to lesser pain relief

Common antidepressants interact with the opioid pain medication tramadol to make it less effective for pain relief, according to a study from University Hospitals.

26 Jun 2019

Study suggests novel approach to treating adults with autism spectrum disorder

A team of scientists at Florida Atlantic University has uncovered a brain-signaling pathway that can be pharmacologically manipulated in genetically engineered mice to reverse an autism-related pathway.

8 Oct 2018

Study highlights opposite effects of gene following different types of environmental events

Researchers have discovered that the same gene which increases your risk of depression following financial stress as you grow older also reduces your chance of depression associated with friendship and relationships stresses when young- your social network.

8 Oct 2018

Regular mental health checkups may be better way to treat anxiety

No matter which treatment they get, only 20 percent of young people diagnosed with anxiety will stay well over the long term, UConn Health researchers report in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

1 Jun 2018

Fearful worms provide new clues about human anxiety

Ask a dozen people about their greatest fears, and you'll likely get a dozen different responses. That, along with the complexity of the human brain, makes fear--and its close cousin, anxiety--difficult to study.

19 Mar 2018

Study may provide insights into treating autism and other neuropsychiatric disorders

Alterations in a naturally occurring chemical in the brain called serotonin have been linked to a number of neuropsychiatric disorders including depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder as well as autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

20 Sep 2017

Study findings could lead to more effective and faster acting antidepressants

For people suffering from depression, a day without treatment can seem like a lifetime. A new study explains why the most commonly prescribed antidepressants can take as long as six weeks to have an effect. The findings could one day lead to more effective and faster acting drugs.

3 Aug 2017

Research findings may provide path to new faster-acting antidepressants

Some activity patterns in the brain can be dangerous, producing persistent dark moods that drain people's motivation, pleasure, and hope.

28 Jul 2017

Antidepressant use during early pregnancy not linked to risk of autism, ADHD in kids, study shows

A study led by Indiana University suggests that mothers' use of antidepressants during early pregnancy does not increase the risk of their children developing autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, conditions previously associated with these medications.

18 Apr 2017

New study to look at impact of common antidepressants on pregnant women

Northwestern Medicine Prentice Women's Hospital and the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry is home to a landmark study that will, for the first time, take a close look at the impact of certain common antidepressants on pregnant women.

13 Sep 2016

SSRI treatment improves cognitive and social functioning in young children with fragile X

Treatment with sertraline may provide nominal but important improvements in cognition and social participation in very young children with fragile X syndrome, the most common genetic cause of intellectual disability and the leading single-gene cause of autism, a study by researchers with the UC Davis MIND Institute has found.

26 Aug 2016

UNC researchers map anxiety circuit in the brain that may explain side effects of antidepressants

More than 100 million people worldwide take selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), such as Prozac and Zoloft, to treat depression, anxiety and related conditions, but these drugs have a common and mysterious side effect: they can worsen anxiety in the first few weeks of use, which leads many patients to stop treatment.

25 Aug 2016

Study examines whether pregnant woman can take antidepressants during pregnancy

Should a pregnant woman stop taking antidepressants during her pregnancy? The Journal of the American Medical Association has published a study showing the risk of autism doubles (from 1% to 2%) for children of women who use antidepressants, like Zoloft and Prozac. Max Wiznitzer, MD, pediatric neurologist at UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, stresses, even if the study proves correct, the vast majority of babies exposed to antidepressants in the second and third trimesters will not develop autism.

17 Dec 2015

Blueberries may be effective in treatment for PTSD

Up to 8 percent of people in the U.S. suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as the result of witnessing or being the victim of a traumatic event. People with PTSD have been in a situation in which they were at risk of death, serious injury or sexual violence or have seen first-hand loved ones faces such threats. They may experience flashbacks, emotional detachment and jumpiness, among other symptoms that affect their ability to function in everyday life.

30 Mar 2015

Anticholinergic medications associated with pneumonia risk in older people

Taking commonly used medications with anticholinergic effects is associated with a significantly higher risk for developing pneumonia in a study of more than 3,000 older Group Health patients living in the community--not in nursing homes.

3 Mar 2015

Different antidepressants may affect pregnant women differently

About 15 percent of women in the United States suffer from anxiety disorders and depression during their pregnancies, and many are prescribed antidepressants. However little is known about how early exposure to these medications might affect their offspring as they mature into adults.

23 Dec 2014

Laughing gas could be used as treatment for severe depression

Nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, has shown early promise as a potential treatment for severe depression in patients whose symptoms don't respond to standard therapies. The pilot study, at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is believed to be the first research in which patients with depression were given laughing gas.

10 Dec 2014

Scratching itchy skin causes the brain to release serotonin, intensifies itchy feeling

Turns out your mom was right: Scratching an itch only makes it worse. New research from scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis indicates that scratching causes the brain to release serotonin, which intensifies the itch sensation.

31 Oct 2014