Word: zoloft
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...from reabsorbing too much of the neurotransmitter serotonin, leaving more in nerve synapses and thus helping to improve mood. Another SSRI, Paxil, was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration specifically for the treatment of social-anxiety disorder, though the others seem to work as well. A third, Zoloft, has been approved for OCD and panic disorder. Each formulation of SSRI is subtly different--targeting specific subclasses of serotonin. And side effects--which can include dry mouth, fatigue and sexual dysfunction--will vary from person to person. A new group of antidepressants, known as serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors...
...Food and Drug Administration last week approved an old medication for a new use. The drug: the antidepressant Zoloft. The new purpose: something called premenstrual dysphoric disorder...
...PMDD sounds a lot like major depression, that's because the symptoms are very similar. So it's not surprising that standard antidepressants can help. In July 2000, the agency approved the antidepressant fluoxetine (Sarafem) to treat PMDD. Now sertraline (Zoloft) has also been given the nod largely on the strength of Yonkers' study of 200 women with PMDD. That research, first published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, showed Zoloft to be significantly more effective than a sugar pill...
...could be that other therapies--hormones, say, or even psychotherapy--work just as well as Zoloft and Sarafem. But as Yonkers points out, they have not been as carefully studied as the drugs have. And that's good enough for her. "If a patient came into my office with PMDD," she says, "I would likely prescribe medications almost immediately as a first-line therapy...
There are risks with this approach. Like any medication, Zoloft can trigger side effects, including upset stomach, fatigue and agitation. Interestingly, those side effects could very easily be confused with the symptoms...