Escitalopram Research Paper

warned against drinking alcohol while taking escitalopram, as it can intensify the effects and ultimately affect one’s mental and motor skills.
Efficacy of Escitalopram across Different Populations
When considering the use of escitalopram for a client, it is important to understand how this medication affects different populations. There has been a lot of research concerning the use of escitalopram in elderly patients, adolescent patients, and in patients who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Professionals must understand the pharmacological effects of the SSRI medications on these special populations, as well as efficacy and tolerability as well.
Research is still quite limited regarding the effects of escitalopram throughout the gestational
This will allow parents/caretakers to make informed decisions that will allow their child to receive the best care possible. Similarly, Schaller and Rawlings (2005) explained “current antidepressant options available to child and adolescent psychiatrists are very diverse and are increasing. Current practitioners use a variety of FDA- approved medications in an off-label manner with adolescents. Choosing a medication for an adolescent is a complex decision. First, who should lead in the decision? We lean toward allowing patients and parents to be given the information available to make the decision, because the weight given to a medication’s strengths and weaknesses is a value judgment. Escitalopram has proposed possible benefits in obesity problems, low rates of akathisia and dystonia, possible stable dosing and blood levels, a low drug-interaction profile, and low anxiety at onset. However, these proposed strengths need to be balanced by the medication’s smaller adolescent patient numbers and fewer advanced escitalopram studies in adolescents compared with other antidepressants.” Just as in the pregnant and elderly populations, great care should be taken when considering SSRI medication for adolescents. However, it has been found that short term therapy with escitalopram is
It has been proven as effective, if not more, than citalopram, as improvement rates for escitalopram are significantly higher than citalopram when the overall treatment effect was studied. Escitalopram has also been shown to be superior to the SNRI duloxetine, and also equivalent to, or better than venlafaxine. Due to the minimal side effects associated with escitalopram, long term remission rates have also been found to be higher than other antidepressants as well. Patients suffering from major depressive disorder exhibit favorable tolerance to escitalopram, regardless of short or long term therapy. Most side effects were mild and temporary, which included insomnia, nausea, excessive sweating, fatigue/somnolence, dysspermatism, and decreased libido. Escitalopram has significantly lower frequencies of adverse side effects than other SSRIs and SNRIs and discontinuation symptoms are also known to be more tolerable as well. (Kirino, 2012). In conclusion, Kirino (2012) notes “Because MDD recurs readily, it is important to select antidepressant drugs that allow high therapy continuity for pharmacological treatments. The effects of escitalopram highlighted in this review indicate that it is an antidepressant drug appropriate for first-line treatment.” Overall, escitalopram provides clients with better clinical outcomes and lower long-term mental health costs