1950s
The relatively short history of antidepressants begins in the 1950s. For the most part, the discovery of various drugs used to treat depression initially happened by accident, as mental health professionals and pharmacologists alike were seeking to treat various diseases unrelated to depression but instead discovered that their pharmaceutical concoctions had some unexpected and unintended effects on users, including an improvement of mood and behavior, wakefulness and arousal, and patient-noted improvements in general satisfaction with life.
The first of such drugs was iproniazid, which was intended as an anti-tubercular drug. In 1952, it started to be prescribed for depression. It formed a new class of drugs known as monoamine-oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). Patients using iproniazid were reported to have excessive levels of happiness that were uncharacteristic before taking the drug. Called a “psychic energizer” by certain psychiatrists, it was withdrawn in 1957, due to reports of negative physical side effects. In a similar fashion, in 1958, imipramine—marketed as Tofranil—entered the market, as a competitor to iproniazid. It too formed a new class of drugs known as tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), named after the three-ring molecular structure of such drugs (Kramer). Originally prescribed as a treatment for schizophrenia and other forms of psychosis, it was found to be very effective in mood improvement, specifically at the Münsterlingen asylum near Konstanz, Germany, where early use of the drug pioneered its development, eventually becoming a widely used antidepressant (Fitzpatrick).
The use and development of MAOIs and TCAs continued into the 1960s.
History of Antidepressants
References
Fitzpatrick, Laura. “A Brief History of Antidepressants.” Time Health. Time Magazine. 07 Jan 2010.
Kramer, Peter D. Listening to Prozac. Penguin Books. New York, 1993.
The first of such drugs was iproniazid, which was intended as an anti-tubercular drug. In 1952, it started to be prescribed for depression. It formed a new class of drugs known as monoamine-oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). Patients using iproniazid were reported to have excessive levels of happiness that were uncharacteristic before taking the drug. Called a “psychic energizer” by certain psychiatrists, it was withdrawn in 1957, due to reports of negative physical side effects. In a similar fashion, in 1958, imipramine—marketed as Tofranil—entered the market, as a competitor to iproniazid. It too formed a new class of drugs known as tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), named after the three-ring molecular structure of such drugs (Kramer). Originally prescribed as a treatment for schizophrenia and other forms of psychosis, it was found to be very effective in mood improvement, specifically at the Münsterlingen asylum near Konstanz, Germany, where early use of the drug pioneered its development, eventually becoming a widely used antidepressant (Fitzpatrick).
The use and development of MAOIs and TCAs continued into the 1960s.
History of Antidepressants
References
Fitzpatrick, Laura. “A Brief History of Antidepressants.” Time Health. Time Magazine. 07 Jan 2010.
Kramer, Peter D. Listening to Prozac. Penguin Books. New York, 1993.
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