Review on Antidepressant Medication

Abstract

Depression is a life-threatening, debilitating, and common disease affecting different segments of community. Chemical and synthetic drugs available to treat this disease cause many adverse effects and may lead to complete recovery in only 50% of patients. Antidepressants are effective and accessible treatment options that can reduce suffering and prevent relapse of symptoms. They are recommended as first line treatment options in moderate and severe depression or mild or sub threshold depression that has persisted despite other interventions All current antidepressants, with the exception of agomelatine, increase the transmission of the monoamines, particularly serotonin, nor adrenaline and dopamine. The antidepressants are crucial for the treatment of depressive episodes in the acute phase when untreated symptoms are at their worst. With long-term use, however, the brain sets to work compensating for the drug-induced changes with a process he calls oppositional tolerance. Antidepressant drugs are the mainstay for the treatment of depression. Usually, antidepressants are given in combination with some form of limited supportive psychotherapy.