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Ambiguities In The Efficacy Of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors In The Treatment Of Depression, Stephanie Giblin
Ambiguities In The Efficacy Of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors In The Treatment Of Depression, Stephanie Giblin
Writing Across the Curriculum
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the most debilitating mental illness worldwide. Primary treatment of MDD is the administration of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Deemed as the safest psychotropic drug thus far, SSRIs have been shown to reduce depressive symptoms and enhance the quality of life in youth, adult and geriatric populations. However, with rising numbers of individuals taking maintenance doses of SSRIs for five or more years, researchers are beginning to discover severe adverse side effects associated with prolonged treatment. The overall risks of long-term SSRI therapy include tachyphylaxis, tardive dysphoria, structural neurological abnormalities and suicide. SSRIs also have …
Immunotherapy Against Drugs Of Abuse, Gianna Raimondi (Class Of 2017)
Immunotherapy Against Drugs Of Abuse, Gianna Raimondi (Class Of 2017)
Writing Across the Curriculum
Current treatments for drug addiction involve classical pharmacological therapy, involving the use of competitive or noncompetitive agonists (full, partial, or inverse) and antagonists. Drugs of abuse enter the brain after crossing the blood-brain barrier rapidly and binding to the proper receptor(s). They are able to do so because they are small and lipid soluble, and produce reinforcing effects by increasing levels of dopamine in brain areas associated with reward. This occurs in specific systems associated with addiction. In the mesolimbic system, neuron cell bodies originate in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and project to the nucleus accumbens (NAc), amygdala, hippocampus, …