SSRIs: A Pharmacological Cul-de-Sac?
The widespread adoption of selective serotonin inhibitors (SSRIs) as first line pharmacological treatments in the management of clinical depression, transformed the landscape of drug therapy for this condition. SSRIs are safer and better tolerated than the tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) which they replaced. However, they have limitations which may have placed a ceiling on expectations of first-line pharmacological treatment. Notable problems with SSRIs include induction of anxiety on treatment initiation, delayed onset of significant therapeutic effect, sexual dysfunction, sleep disturbance and overall modest efficacy. This talk will describe the development of SSRIs from TCAs and the pharmacological properties that might account for the superior efficacy of TCAs in some people with depression.

zoom.us/j/95199401096?pwd=ancrZ0U1b0RNVmlKL0tQdTQ5SzhLUT09
Meeting ID: 951 9940 1096
Passcode: 937384
Date: 14 May 2024, 9:30
Venue: Department of Psychiatry, Headington OX3 7JX
Venue Details: Seminar Room
Speaker: Professor Phil Cowen (Professor of Psychopharmacology, University of Oxford )
Organising department: Department of Psychiatry
Organiser contact email address: rania.elgarf@psych.ox.ac.uk
Host: Professor Michael Browning (Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford)
Part of: Psychiatry Seminar Series
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Public
Editor: Rania Elgarf