How Do Antidepressants Work
How Do Antidepressants Work E6nE3
In the 1950's the discovery of two new drugs sparked what would become a multibillion dollar market for antidepressants. Neither the drug was intended to treat depression at all. In fact, at the time, many doctors and scientists believed psychotherapy was the only approach to treating depression. The decades long journey of discovery that followed revolutionized our understanding of depression and raised questions we hadn't considered before. One of those first two antidepressant drugs was Iproniazid, which was intented to treat tuberculosis. In the 1952 trial it not only treated tuberculosis it also improved the moods of patients who had been diagnosed with depression. In the 1956 a Swiss clinician observed a similar effect when running a trial for imipramine a drug for allergic reactions. both drugs affected a class of neurotransmitters called monoamines. The discovery of these antidepressant drugs gave rise to the chemical imbalance theory the idea that depression is caused by having insufficient monoamines in the brains synapses.
In the
1950's
the discovery of two new
drugs
sparked what would become a multibillion dollar market for antidepressants. Neither the
drug
was intended
to treat depression at all. In fact, at the time,
many
doctors and scientists believed psychotherapy was the
only
approach to treating depression. The decades long journey of discovery that followed revolutionized our understanding of depression and raised questions we hadn't considered
before
. One of those
first
two antidepressant
drugs
was Iproniazid, which was
intented
to treat tuberculosis. In the 1952 trial it not
only
treated tuberculosis it
also
improved
the moods of patients who had
been diagnosed
with depression. In the 1956 a Swiss clinician observed a similar effect when running a trial for
imipramine
a
drug
for allergic reactions.
both
drugs
affected
a
class
of neurotransmitters called
monoamines
. The discovery of these antidepressant
drugs
gave rise to the chemical imbalance theory the
idea
that depression
is caused
by having insufficient
monoamines
in the brains synapses.
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