Prozac is prescribed for the treatment of depression--that is, a continuing depression that interferes with daily functioning. The symptoms of major depression often include changes in appetite, sleep habits, and mind/body coordination; decreased sex drive; increased fatigue; feelings of guilt or worthlessness; difficulty concentrating; slowed thinking; and suicidal thoughts. Prozac is also prescribed to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder. An obsession is a thought that won't go away; a compulsion is an action done over and over to relieve anxiety. The drug is also used in the treatment of bulimia (binge-eating followed by deliberate vomiting). It has also been used to treat other eating disorders and obesity. Under the brand name Sarafem, the active ingredient in Prozac is also prescribed for the treatment of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), formerly known as premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Symptoms of PMDD include mood problems such as anxiety, depression, irritability or persistent anger, mood swings, and tension. Physical problems that accompany PMDD include bloating, breast tenderness, headache, and joint and muscle pain. Symptoms typically begin 1 to 2 weeks before a woman's menstrual period and are severe enough to interfere with day-to-day activities and relationships.

Prozac is a member of the family of drugs called "selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors." Serotonin is one of the chemical messengers believed to govern moods. Ordinarily, it is quickly reabsorbed after its release at the junctures between nerves. Re-uptake inhibitors such as Prozac slow this process, thereby boosting the levels of serotonin available in the brain.

You can find an extensive list of recent scientific research abstracts about PROZAC here

Sertraline (brand name Zoloft) is used to treat depression (a persistently low mood that interferes with everyday living. Symptoms may include loss of interest in your usual activities, disturbed sleep, change in appetite, constant fidgeting or lethargic movement, fatigue, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, difficulty thinking or concentrating, and recurrent thoughts of suicide), obsessiveor counting, panic disorder (unexpected attacks of overwhelming anxiety, accompanied by fear of their return), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), (re-experiencing a dangerous or life-threatening event through intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, and intense psychological distress) and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD).

Sertraline is in a class of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Sertraline affects chemicals in the brain that may become unbalanced and cause depression, panic or anxiety, obsessive or compulsive symptoms, or other psychiatric symptoms.

You can find an extensive list of recent scientific research abstracts about ZOLOFT here

You can find an extensive list of recent scientific research abstracts about PAXIL here

Promising "second-generation" adaptogen Rhodiola Rosea (Russian Rhodiola) is a perennial plant with red, pink, or yellowish flowers. It has no biological relation to the "common" rose, but due to its similar fragrance it has been used as a substitute for Attar of Roses. One of the greatest things Rhodiola does is enhance mental and physical performance. It has been widely used by Russian athletes and cosmonauts to increase energy. Rhodiola is cardio-protective, normalizing the heart rate immediately after intense exercise. It improves the nervous system and mental functions such as memory, by increasing blood-supply to the muscles and brain, and it also increases protein synthesis (1,2,3). Rhodiola Rosea has extraordinary pharmacological properties as an anti-mutagen and anti-depressive agent. In this respect Rhodiola Rosea is much more powerful than other adaptogens. In one study done by O.M. Duhan and colleagues (4), the anti-mutagenic activities of Panax Ginseng and of Rhodiola Rosea were compared. It became clear that the extracts of Rhodiola Rosea had a higher capacity to counteract gene mutations induced by various mutagens (up to about 90% inhibition in some cases). The anti-depressive and anti-stress activity of Golden root is higher than that of St. John's Wort, Ginkgo biloba and Panax Ginseng. Furthermore, Rhodiola Rosea is five times less toxic than Panax ginseng. In an experiment on rats with Pliss lymphosarcoma (PLS) it was shown (5) that partial hepatectomy, a course application of Rhodiola Rosea extract or combined effects inhibit the growth of tumors by 37%, 39% and 59%, respectively, and that of metastases by 42%, 50% and 75%. In one human study (6) oral administration of Rhodiola Rosea extract to 12 patents with superficial bladder carcinoma (T1G1-2) improved the characteristics of the urothelial tissue integration, parameters of leukocyte integrins and T-cell immunity. The average frequency of relapses for these patients was found to fall twice. In another clinical trial 150 individuals suffering from depression took Rhodiola Rosea extracts for a period of one month. At the end of that period two-thirds of them had full remission of clinical manifestations of depression, and had become more active and more sociable. Daytime weakness and general weakness disappeared. Rhodiola rosea extracts reduce significantly the yield of cells with the chromosome aberrations in vivo and inhibit unscheduled DNA synthesis induced by N-nitroso-N-methylurea in vitro (7). It is emphasized that Rhodiola Rosea extracts have rejuvenative properties due to their ability to raise the efficiency of the intracell DNA repair mechanisms.

You can find an extensive list of recent scientific research abstracts about RHODIOLA ROSEA here

Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2003 Jul;108(1):24-31
Antidepressants: psychiatrists' opinions and clinical practice.
Depont F, Rambelomanana S, Le Puil S, Begaud B, Verdoux H, Moore N.
Departments of Pharmacology and Adult Psychiatry, Public Health Research Institute IFR99, Universite Victor Segalen, Bordeaux, France.

OBJECTIVE: To describe and compare psychiatrists' opinion on antidepressant drugs and their prescriptions to depressed patients. METHOD: Between January and September 1999 a representative sample of French psychiatrists was asked their opinion of the 15 most prescribed antidepressants, and then to describe the treatments of the current depressive episode of four depressive patients each, their changes and the reason thereof. RESULTS: A total of 232 psychiatrists and 935 patients participated. The best ranked antidepressants were clomipramine, paroxetine and amitriptyline for efficacy, tianeptine, paroxetine and citalopram for tolerability. In patients, the most often prescribed were paroxetine, Fluoxetine and venlafaxine. Those least often stopped for intolerance were tianeptine (2.9%), citalopram (5.2%), venlafaxine (3.3%) and amitriptyline (5.7%) for lack of efficacy. There was no difference in stopping rates for inefficacy of tricyclics and serotonin-selective agents. CONCLUSION: The best predictors for the prescribed antidepressants were the psychiatrists' overall rankings and opinions of the tolerability of the drug.

Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2003;2:CD003592
Antidepressants for generalized anxiety disorder (Cochrane Review).
Kapczinski F, Lima MS, Souza N, Js N, Schmitt N, R N.
Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul - UFRGS, Departamento de Medicinal Legal e Psiquiatria - HCPA - UFRGS, Rua Ramiro Barcelos, 2350, Porto Alegre, RS, BRAZIL, 90035-003.

BACKGROUND: Pharmacological treatments have been successfully used to treat Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). The mainstay for the pharmacological treatment of GAD in past decades has been the use of benzodiazepine and non benzodiazepine anxiolytics. Data emerging over the last two decades have shown that antidepressants may be equally effective to anxiolytics for treating GAD. The use of antidepressants for treating GAD may be advantageous, due to the fact that GAD presents a high co morbidity ratio with major depressive disorder (62%) and dysthymia (37%). OBJECTIVES: To assess the efficacy and acceptability of antidepressants for treating generalized anxiety disorder. SEARCH STRATEGY: Cochrane Collaboration Depression, Anxiety and Neurosis Controlled Trials Register - CCDANCTR (up to May 2002), Anxiety Neurosis (up to May 2002) and Cochrane Controlled Trials Register (CENTRAL/CCTR) (up to May 2002), MEDLINE (1966 to May 2002), LILACS (1982 to May 2002); reference searching; personal communication; conference abstracts and book chapters on the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials were included. Exclusion criteria were: non randomised studies; studies which included patients with generalized anxiety disorder and another Axis I co-morbidity. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: The data from studies were extracted independently by two reviewers and relative risks, weighted mean difference and number needed to treat were estimated. People who died or dropped out were regarded as having had no improvement. MAIN RESULTS: Antidepressants (imipramine, venlafaxine and paroxetine) were found to be superior to placebo in treating GAD. The calculated NNT for antidepressants in GAD is 5.15. Dropout rates did not differ between antidepressants. Only one study presented data on imipramine and trazodone. Imipramine was chosen as the reference drug and, therefore, data on trazodone could not be included in the meta analysis. Only one study was conducted among children and adolescents (~~Rynn 2001~~). The latter study showed very promising results of Sertraline in children and adolescents with GAD, which warrants its replication in larger samples. REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS: The available evidence suggests that antidepressants are superior to placebo in treating GAD. There is evidence from one trial suggesting that paroxetine and imipramine have a similar efficacy and tolerability. There is also evidence from placebo-controlled trials suggesting that these drugs are well tolerated by GAD patients. Further trials of antidepressants for GAD will help to demonstrate which antidepressants should be used for which patients.