Prozac and other SSRIs
1.
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most commonly prescribed class
of antidepressant drugs in the United States, as well as in many other countries throughout the
world. Fluoxetine(also known as Prozac) was the first SSRI released in 1988, and since then,
sertraline(Zoloft), paroxetine (Paxil), escitalopram(Lexapro), fluvoxamine(Luvox), and
citalopram(Celexa) have been released, making up the rest of the class (Butcher, Hooley, &
Mineka, 2013).
Although there is no convincing evidence that SSRIs are more effective at treating
depression than other types of antidepressants, there are a number of reasons that account for
the surge in popularity since their release. The first is their benign list of side effects relative to
other antidepressants. As Preskorn, Ross and Stanga (2004) explain, SSRIs were the first
rationally designed psychotropic drug, which they define as one that is efficacious in treating
depression without causing the adverse side effects associated with older antidepressant drugs
