Selective Serotonin: Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) Drugs: More Risks Than Benefits?(Report‪)‬

The Genesis of SSRIs Fluoxetine (Prozac in the U.S., see Table 1), introduced in 1988 to combat depression, was the fourth selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) on the U.S. market, after being seriously considered by Eli Lilly as an antihypertensive drug. Unlike the earlier "tricyclics" (amitripyline, clomipramine, dothiepin, imipramine, etc.) and other drug classes, SSRIs acted on the brain to raise levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin without raising the levels of norepinephrine. This was thought to be a benefit in treatment of depression, and later anxiety, panic, social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and many other conditions. (1) The SSRIs listed in Table 1 are among the most frequently prescribed in the U.S., and compete with the five non-SSRIs shown, and others.