Lexapro has fewer and milder side-effects than other drugs in the Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) family of drugs used in the treatment of depression and general anxiety disorders. One common side-effect of this however is weight gain though it is far less than with other SSRI drugs. Weight gain however is a very undesirable side-effect because of the mood swings and low self-esteem that weight gains can cause to people already suffering from depression or general anxiety disorders. It should however be noted that not every person on Lexapro treatment gains weight.

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Drugs in the Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI) category are widely discussed and debated for their therapeutic action vis- -vis side-effects in the treatment of depression and generalized anxiety disorders. Lexapro is the newest member of this class of drugs; so a comparison with Zoloft, another SSRI drug used widely in the United States, would be interesting.

Lexapro and Zoloft have more similarities than differences in action and side-effects. Both exert similar action on the brain: they help maintain the level of serotonin at a normal level, so the patient with depression or anxiety disorders feels better.

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Depression is a complex of psychological and physical symptoms. Low mood level or sadness is often the most prominent symptom. The common property of these symptoms is a decreased activity level in parts of the brain.

THE SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION

Depression may give one or more of these symptoms:

-Low mood level or sadness.

-Lack of joy or interest in activities that were joyful before.

-Pessimism.

-Feel of guilt of something without any substantial reason to feel so.

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Without going into the mechanism of how SSRI drugs act on the brain, suffice it to say for the purpose of this report that SSRI stands for Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor . These drugs influence the balance of serotonin, the mood-influencing chemical in the brain cells, and thereby help the patients recover from depression or general anxiety disorders. SSRI drugs however are given to causing side-effects on patients, which range from mild to severe depending on the patient s physiological make-up. The latest member of the SSRI family is chemically called escitalopram, which is available under the brand name Lexapro in the United States.

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Clinical depression (also called major depressive disorder, or unipolar depression when compared to bipolar disorder) is a state of intense sadness, melancholia or despair that has advanced to the point of being disruptive to an individual’s social functioning and/or activities of daily living. Depression affects people differently. Some feel down for extended periods of time; for others the feelings of depression come and go. Depression is a mood disorder that causes you to feel sad or hopeless for an extended period of time. More than just a bout of “the blues” or temporary feelings of grief or low energy. Many people identify the feeling of being clinically depressed as “feeling sad for no reason”, or “having no motivation to

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