Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago are a step closer to discovering why it is so difficult for people to withdraw from some antidepressant medications.
The paper "Antidepressants produce persistent Gαs associated signaling changes in lipid rafts following drug withdrawal," published in the journal Molecular Pharmacology, addresses the molecular and cellular mechanisms that cause antidepressant withdrawal syndrome.
The study's authors, Mark Rasenick, distinguished professor of physiology and biophysics and psychiatry at UIC and research career scientist at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, and Nicholas Senese, a postdoctoral fellow at UIC, explained that current antidepressants can take approximately two months to take effect in patients who then continue taking these drugs for years. Weaning patients from these drugs can result in unpleasant symptoms that can range from flu-like feelings and persistent pain or itch to Parkinson's-like conditions that can last for weeks.
One in six Americans have, or will, suffer from depression; for veterans, the estimated rate is twice that.
