What is Antidepressant?

Antidepressants represent a special group of drugs that significantly relieve the symptoms of depression and. Thus, help to fight it. These drugs were first used in 1950s and now their population is growing every year. The mechanism of antidepressant action is not completely revealed yet, but most likely they stimulate the activity of special brain chemicals which are called neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are responsible for transmitting signals from one brain to another, in addition two of them – Serotonin and Noradrelin influence the state of our mood and are connected with depression development.

Antidepressants are commonly used to overcome the following symptoms of depression:

Eating and sleeping disorder;
Constant feeling of anxiety and frequent panic attacks;
Chronic pain;
Post-traumatic stress.

Usually the state of patient’s health is noticeably improved after five-six months of taking antidepressants, but it is strongly advised to continue treatment for half a year more to prevent the relapse of depression.

Nowadays there are four main types of antidepressants:

SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors);
SNRIs (Serotonin and Noradrenaline Reuptake Inhibitors);
MAOIs (Monoamine oxidase inhibitors);
Tricyclics.