Kontakt 2005, 7(3-4):338-343 | DOI: 10.32725/kont.2005.065

Depression and antidepressantsBiomedicine

Bohumír Plucar^1,*, Iveta Vávrů²

¹ Ústav lékařské etiky, Masarykova univerzita, Brno

² Jihočeská univerzita v Českých Budějovicích, Zdravotně sociální fakulta, katedra radiologie a toxikologie

Depression is a disease affecting both the body and the state of mind and the thinking. It influences sleep and eating habits, the way of perception of oneself as well as perception of surrounding world. Depression is not a symptom of personal weakness or a condition we could get rid of by mere wish or will involvement. People suffering from depression cannot simply "pull themselves together" and relax. It is typical that depressive disturbances occur in different forms. Symptom complexes can remain during weeks, months or years, when they are not treated. On the other hand, adequate treatment can help the majority of the population suffering from depressions. Different types of antidepressants are available, including the newest ones as - serotonine-retrograde-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) - as well as tricyclic antidepressants and mono-amino-oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). SSRIs, as well as further newer medicines influencing the neurotransmitters - e.g. dopamine or noradrenaline - have generally more undesirable effects than tricyclic antidepressants. Appropriately chosen psychotherapy combined with appropriate antidepressant can contribute substantially to improvement of life quality in persons suffering from depressions.

Keywords: depression; mood; psychotherapy; antidepressants; life quality

Published: November 22, 2005  Show citation