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Running header: Sertraline (Zoloft) drug
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Sertraline (Zoloft) drug
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Running header: Sertraline (Zoloft) drug
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Sertraline (Zoloft) Drug
Zoloft is an antidepressant drug that is in a group of drugs known as serotonin reuptake
inhibitors. The molecular formulae of Zoloft is C17H17C12N with the molecular weight is
342.7. The drug has an effect on the brain chemicals that might be unbalanced especially in
people who are depressed, people with panic or suffer from anxiety. Zoloft is a drug used to treat
“depression, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, panic and anxiety
disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder” (Bourgeois, 2013). The history of Zoloft can be
traced back in the early 1970s when a scientist known as Reinhard Sarges working at Pfizer was
after discovering the new set of psychoactive compounds that finally steered to the development
of the tametraline that was an inferior dopamine reuptake inhibitor (Logan, Friel & Case, 2011).
After some time of testing, scientists started noticing some strange and unwanted side effects in
the animals that were used for the testing and this clearly showed that tametraline was not giving
the result they were after.
In the year 1977 two scientists, Kenneth Koe and Willard Welch who were also
employees at Pfizer were carrying out other experiments but in their compounds they mixed
tametraline with other drugs and led them to the innovation of the “serotonin reuptake inhibitor”
that afterwards was referred to as sertraline (Di Rocco etal, 2014). The two scientist that came up
with the drug faced so much resistance from Pfizer Company. The company was planning on
licensing an antidepressant from another company at that time hence the scientists had no option
but to lobby for further improvement and development of the drug. After the testing of the drug,
the scientists were happy about the effect and result that their product had on the animals used
for the testing. Later, the two scientists gave a statement that the discovery of the drug was
accidental claiming they had no intention of discovering antidepressant (Truman, etal, 2010).
Tests of the drug on human beings were carried out and due to its successful results it
was sanctioned by the Food and Drug Administration and in 1999 the drug was release in the
market by Pfizer with its brand name being Zoloft (Logan, Friel & Case, 2011). After the director
of Neuropharmacological Products, Paul Leber declared that the choice by the agency to approve
the drug for use was a tough decision to make there were many controversies that begun to
surround the Zoloft history and the approval by Food and Drug Administration. Leber was keen
to note that the clinical trials of the drug has shown little improvements on the outpatients
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suffering from depression and had completely no improvement on inpatient suffering from
placebos (Di Rocco etal, 2014).
After continuous improvement and testing of the drug, it was approved that it can be used
on people aged 18 years and below who suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder in the year
2002. This consequently led to a dramatic increase in the prescription of the drug for a number of
difference conditions. For the next 9 years Pfizer Company sold hundreds of millions of the drug
prescriptions. In 2005, the Food and Drug Administration added a label on the drug warning that
the drug could lead to the risk of children having suicidal behavior (Logan, Friel & Case, 2011). In
2007, the warning was revised and the risk of suicidal behavior was no longer in children alone
but also in young adults aged 24 years and below (Truman, etal, 2010). Although the drug is a
great invention in the science world, just like any other drug it has its side effects. Some of the
side effects associated to the drug include: drowsiness, stomach pain and upsets, dry mouth,
change in appetite, insomnia, and decrease in sex drive, impotence or difficulty in having an
orgasm. The drug should be taken exactly according to the doctor’s prescription (Bourgeois,
2013).
In case a dose is missed you should never take extra medicine in order to make up for the
dose you missed. If the drug is overdosed you should seek immediate medical help or can
immediately contact the Poison Help group for further directions (Logan, Friel & Case, 2011).
Since its release, Zoloft has raised extensive research concerns aimed at the effectiveness
and the safety of the drug. With Zoloft becoming the most popular antidepressant drug in the
market, the concerns about the drug have increased especially in cases where the mother gives
birth to a child with a defect because she used the drug in her pregnancy period. While different
people react differently to different drugs. Some individuals have allergic reaction to Zoloft and
is evident through signs such as; skin rashes, swelling of the face, lips or through and having
difficulty in breathing. If such allergic reactions show up one should report to the medic
immediately. If the drug is used for a long time it may have serious effects and increases the risk
of birth defects such as heart defects, skull deformities, brain defects, defects of the abdomen,
clubfoot and facial cleft deformities (Bourgeois, 2013).
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References:
Bourgeois, J. A. (2013). Two cases of hair loss after sertraline use. Journal of clinical
psychopharmacology, 16(1), 91-92.
Di Rocco, A., Brannan, T., Prikhojan, A., & Yahr, M. D. (2014). Sertraline induced parkinsonim. A case
report and an in-vivo study of the effect of sertraline on dopamine metabolism. Journal of neural
transmission, 105(2-3), 247-251.
Logan, B. K., Friel, P. N., & Case, G. A. (2011). Analysis of sertraline (Zoloft®) and its major metabolite in
postmortem specimens by gas and liquid chromatography. Journal of analytical toxicology, 18(3),
139-142.
Truman, C. J., Goldberg, J. F., Ghaemi, S. N., Baldassano, C. F., Wisniewski, S. R., Dennehy, E. B., ... &
Sachs, G. S. (2010). Self-Reported History of Manic/Hypomanic Switch Associated With
Antidepressant Use: Data From the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar
Disorder (STEP-BD). (CME). Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 68(10), 1472-1479.