The Dangers of Antidepressants

Posted on January 9, 2018

A fortunate knock of luck is always welcomed by scientists and researchers, yet any treatment modalities should be novel by design rather than by serendipity. Antidepressants were discovered by chance in the 1950s, and it seems that they suffer from specific deficiencies when it comes to their clinical effectiveness and safety profile. It is something that very few in the medical field negate, although the degree of disagreement may vary.

Both the US- and European-based statistics show a sharp increase in the prescription of antidepressants since the 1990s. Although statistics also indicate that no more than 8% of the population suffers from depression, 13% are taking antidepressants.

Antidepressants have been shown to increase the activation of the prefrontal cortex but decrease the activation of the hippocampus, parahippocampal region, amygdala, ventral anterior cingulate cortex, and orbitofrontal cortex. These areas of the brain play an important role in shaping mood and emotions and are part of limbic and reward systems.

When it comes to side effects, anticholinergic side effects like dryness of mouth, blurring of vision, and dizziness are common with most antidepressants. Most of them may also alter appetite and sexual function, and cause an upset stomach, joint and muscular pains, problems with drug interactions, irritability, mood changes, movement disorders and the risk of falling in the elderly, and much more. Moreover, these side effects continue to persist when the drugs are used long term.

The development of tolerance and withdrawal symptoms are widespread. Discontinuation syndrome can be really bad in many cases.

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Category(s):Depression

Source material from The Brain Blogger