Different types of depression medications

  1. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs): These are widely considered to be the standard drug treatment techniques in antidepressants. It is believed that the most common cause of depression might be less amount of serotonin. SSRS’s act on this neurotransmitter to increase serotonin. Some of the drugs in this category are Citalopram, Fluxetine, Sertraline etc. SSRIs have been known to have less side effects compared to tricyclic anti depressants. These are the commonly used drug whenever there are signs of depression.
  2. Serotonin-NorePinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs): SNRIs are newly developed anti depressants. They work on two neurotransmitters called as 5-HT and norepinephrine. They result in same kind of side effects as caused by SSRIs. Duloxetine, Venlafaxine, Desvenlafaxine etc are few drugs in SNRI.
  3. Noradrenergic and Specific Serotonergic Antidepressants (NSSAs): Thes are another class of newly developed antidepressants. Thes class of drugs increase the neurotransmission of norepinephrine and serotonin. Use of these drugs may cause drowsiness, weight gain etc. Example of these drugs are Mianserin and Mirtazapine.
  4. Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (NRIs): NRIs drugs affect norepinephrine neurotransmitter. They are believed to increase concentration and positive motivation and decrease the signs of depression. Some of the drugs are Viloxazine, Reboxetine, Atomoxetine etc.
  5. Norepinephrine-dopamine Reuptake Inhibitors (NDRIs): These antidepressants inhibit neuronal reuptake of norepinephrine and dopamine. Well known NDRIs is Bupropion.
  6. Norepinephrine-dopamine Disinhibitors (NDDIs): NDDIs work on antagonizing the 5HT2c receptor of serotonin which increases the outflow of dopamine and norepinephrine neurotransmitters.
  7. Tricyclic Antidepressants (TCAs): TCA are the earlier commonly used drugs. They are known to cause many side effects. They work by blocking reuptake of few neurotransmitters such as serotonin and noradrenaline.

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