News 
Market Data 
Discover
Replies to post #67863 on Anavex Life Sciences Corp (AVXL)
Antidepressants & SSRIs
A A
Antidepressants & SSRIs
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are antidepressants that work by altering the levels of a mood-enhancing chemical called serotonin. But when pregnant women take them they increase the risk of autism spectrum disorder and birth defects in newborns.
Tell Us What You Think
Please provide us any comments, suggestions, or feedback on how we can improve our website.
Antidepressant use is on the rise in the U.S. and researchers estimate that one in 10 Americans is on this medication. Doctors are more likely to prescribe these drugs to women. One in four women in their 40s and 50s take antidepressants, and 13 percent of pregnant women take these drugs. There are several reasons why doctors recommend them. Some are for uses not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Doctors may prescribe antidepressants —selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most popular — to expectant mothers with depression or anxiety to keep them from hurting themselves or putting their baby at risk. But researchers are publishing more studies that show these drugs may put the baby at risk of being born with autism or severe birth defects.
Prozac was the first SSRI to hit the U.S. market in 1988. By 2005, SSRIs were the most prescribed in the country. Today, about a dozen SSRIs are prescribed, including Paxil, Zoloft and Prozac.
SSRIs are considered third-generation antidepressants, and are known for having fewer side effects than older antidepressants. SSRIs are prescribed to treat depression, anxiety disorders, panic attacks and personality disorders. They have been shown to be more effective in severe cases of depression than in mild cases.
They work by increasing the levels of a brain chemical called serotonin, which plays a key role in mood. The body naturally produces serotonin and keeps it at a certain level, but SSRIs can increase that level by blocking (inhibiting) the re-absorption (reuptake) of serotonin.
SSRIs have a number of common side effects, including sexual side effects (a repressed libido, erectile dysfunction and difficult achieving orgasm, for men and women). Fatigue, weight loss, apathy, insomnia, headaches and pupil dilation are among the other most-reported side effects.
Pregnant women risk suffering from these side effects, plus the risk of their unborn babies developing autism or birth defects.
The overall side effects were serious enough to lead the FDA to issue multiple warnings about many of the drugs. In addition, some of the drugs are the target of product liability lawsuits.
GBI Research analysis shows that the overall global antidepressant market for the four indications, (MDD, OCD, GAD and PD) was valued at $11.9 billion in 2011, growing from $10.5 billion in 2004 and indicating a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 1.7%. The market is forecast to reach revenues of approximately $13.4 billion by 2018 for the above mentioned four major indications, increasing at a CAGR of 1.8%. Overall the number of prescriptions for antidepressant has risen, but this has been offset by a number of patent expiries and high generic entry. Drugs currently in development have taken on a new multi-targeted approach, combining targets known to be beneficial for the treatment of MDD, OCD, GAD and PD. The future of the antidepressant market is reliant on the positive safety profiles of drugs in the pipeline, with no disease-modifying therapies expected to enter the market in the near future.
AI
