Types Of Antidepressants
Antidepressants are a group of medications that are prescribed to treat depression. Depression is one of the most common and well-known mood disorders. Anxiety followed by depression are the most common mood disorders.
Depression is a disease that affects several areas, including the cognitive, emotional and social aspects. For this reason, the treatment of these diseases is done in a multidisciplinary way, covering specialties such as psychology and psychiatry.
What is depression?
From a clinical point of view, a person is considered to be suffering from depression when they experience a series of symptoms that indicate the presence of a sad state of mind. However, in some cases irritable moods may manifest, accompanied by lack of motivation, sleep disturbances or weight variation.
Depressed people in general, have been in a state of passivity, experience the sensation of not controlling their life, and suffer hopelessness. This type of patient they have a high level of negativity and low mental and physical activation.
The treatment of depression is carried out by different types of professionals, using various psychological therapies combined with pharmacological treatments.
Types of antidepressants
Neurotransmitters are brain chemicals that are related to depression. Especially serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. For this reason, many antidepressant medications exert their effect by acting on these substances in different ways.
Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI)
This group of drugs works by inhibiting monoamine oxidase, and they are generally only used when other drugs do not work, since this group of antidepressants has side effects that can be serious.
In addition, the use of this type of antidepressant requires that as a patient you follow a strict diet, since the interaction of these with some foods can be dangerous.
You may also be interested in: 5 things to remember if you take antidepressants
Tricyclic and tetracyclic antidepressants
These drugs are, after the MAOS, the oldest. For a long time they were the most widely used antidepressants. Its mechanism of action is based on preventing the reuptake of the neurtransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine.
They have the disadvantage that their mechanism of action is not specific on serotonin and noradrenaline, but affects other hormones such as acetylcholine, histamine and dopamine. Due to this unspecified action, important side effects, even creating addiction to these drugs.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are the most widely used type of antidepressant today. They are the treatment of choice in cases of depression, since their side effects are milder compared to those that other types of antidepressants can cause.
Depression is closely related to anxiety, and because of the mechanism of action of SSRI medications, they can be used to treat both mood disorders.
This type of antidepressant works by specifically inhibiting the reabsorption of serotonin, and does not affect other neurotransmitters. They can cause some side effects that are usually mild, such as nausea, vomiting or mild sedation. It is a group of medications of the safest.
In this pharmacological group are among others the following active principles:
- Fluoxetine
- Paroxetine
- Sertraline
- Citalopram
- Escitalopram
Serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs)
This type of antidepressant acts on serotonin and norepinephrine, the The main difference with tricyclic antidepressants is that they are specific, acting only on these two neurotransmitters. The best known active substances in this pharmacological group are venlafaxine and duloxetine.
Other antidepressants: bupropion
Bupropion is a drug that acts by selectively inhibiting the reuptake of dopamine and norepinephrine. It has been shown to be effective in treating depression, although currently He is best known for the results obtained in smoking cessation treatments.
The value of antidepressants
Most antidepressants improve depression by exerting their action on some of the neurotransmitters. Depression is a complicated illness that requires combination therapies to be successful.
