Off-label uses of drugs for depression.

Off-label uses of drugs for depression. Eur J Pharmacol. 2019 Oct 14;:172732 Authors: Skånland SS, Cieslar-Pobuda A Abstract The prescription of drugs for depression is rising rapidly. One of the reasons for this trend is their many off-label uses. Up to one third of all prescriptions are for non-indicated use, which in addition to drug repurposing includes different dosing or duration than those recommended. In this review, we elaborate on what antidepressants can treat besides depression. The five classes of drugs for depression are introduced, and their mechanisms of action and serious side effects are described. The most common off-label uses of antidepressants are discussed, with a special focus on treating eating disorders, sleep problems, smoking cessation and managing chronic pain. Depression is often a comorbidity when antidepressants are chosen as therapy, but good therapeutic effects have been observed for other conditions also when depression is not involved. Finally, a new type of antidepressant developed from the hallucinogenic "party drug" ketamine is briefly introduced. This recent development suggest that antidepressants will keep playing a central role in medicine for years to come. PMID: 31622593 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: European Journal of Pharmacology - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Tags: Eur J Pharmacol Source Type: research