PAROXETINE: WHAT IT IS FOR AND EFFECTS - ARTE - 2025

The Paroxetine is an antidepressant drug that seems to have anxiety - inducing qualities that could be effective in reducing anxiety disorders. Anxiety is a psychological alteration that, when it occurs with high intensity, usually requires the administration of psychotropic drugs to achieve an adequate therapeutic approach.

Normally, to deal with anxiety problems, the well-known anxiolytic drugs such as diazepam or lorazepam are usually administered. In this article we will review the qualities of paroxetine, we will explain how it works, what changes it makes in our psychological functioning, when we take it and what uses it can have when treating anxiety.

What is Paroxetine?

Paroxetine is a drug corresponding to the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants. It should be noted that it is a drug with antidepressant action and potential that increases mood.

However, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are often used to treat depressive conditions, anxiety disorders, and occasionally some personality disorders.

The way this drug works, as its name suggests, is to inhibit the reuptake of the substance called serotonin.

Paroxetine is marketed under different names: Casbol, Frosinor, Motivan, Seroxat and Paroxetine.

What does paroxetine do?

As we have said, paroxetine is a drug categorized as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Thus, its main action is to inhibit the reuptake of these substances in the brain.

By inhibiting the reuptake of this substance, what it does is prevent neurons from picking up and eliminating serotonin that goes from one place to another.

By preventing the neuron from reuptake it, serotonin stays longer in the space between neurons (the presynaptic space), therefore, so to speak, the life of serotonin is extended.

By systematically increasing the life of serotonin, which stays longer in the presynaptic space stimulating neurons, serotonin levels in the brain increase.

Thus, the action that Paroxetine performs is to increase serotonin levels in the brain by preventing them from being eliminated by neurons.

Effects on the brain

The increase in serotonin levels in the brain produces a series of effects: greater sense of well-being, greater relaxation, greater concentration, greater self-esteem, etc.

However, the increase in serotonin and therefore the effect of paroxetine do not always cause these effects in such a specific way.

In addition, despite the fact that anxiety constitutes a psychopathological syndrome, each anxiety disorder has certain characteristics, and obviously, the same happens with each person.

For this reason, despite the fact that, as we have explained, the increase in serotonin can appease the symptoms of anxiety, this guarantees the effectiveness of this drug to treat anxiety disorders.

Is it effective for depression or anxiety?

Studies on paroxetine, as with most psychotropic drugs, have been plentiful in recent years.

Depressed

Because paroxetine is itself a drug with antidepressant properties, we will first discuss its efficacy for these types of disorders.

In this way, a recent work published by the "online" edition of "The Lancet" defends the efficacy of paroxetine as an antidepressant.

However, it should be noted that when compared to other antidepressant drugs, paroxetine obtained worse results in terms of efficacy, tolerance, safety and cost than sertraline, escitalopram, reboxetine, mirtazapine and venlafaxine.

Thus, in general terms, paroxetine would not be the first drug of choice for treating depressive conditions, since there are currently more effective drugs.

In anxiety

However, other studies have revealed the anxiolytic effects of paroxetine, a fact that highlights the possibility that it is an effective drug for treating anxiety disorders.

For example, an investigation carried out by doctors Vega and Mendiola of the Autonomous University of Guadalajara, revealed the efficacy of Paroxetine for the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder and depression.

More specifically, the efficacy of this drug was studied together with Alprazolam (an anxiolytic drug) to treat 56 patients with a dual diagnosis of generalized anxiety and depression.

This study demonstrated the good synergy between both drugs and how the anxiolytic properties of paroxetine were very useful to enhance the effect of alprazolam.

Likewise, other studies have shown that paroxetine contains mechanisms of action that reduce anxiety levels.

So is it good for treating anxiety?

Now, does this mean that paroxetine is a suitable medicine for treating anxiety disorders? Again we return to the dilemma that two and two almost never add up to four in psychiatry, so there is no single answer to this question.

What has been shown, as we have been commenting on, is that paroxetine contains anxiolytic potential, therefore, it can help reduce anxiety.

However, the potential to reduce anxiety is generally less than that of anxiolytic drugs such as benzodiazepines. Thus, in the face of serious anxiety problems and very high anxiety symptoms, paroxetine might not be the first-choice drug.

However, its antidepressant properties make it a very good pharmacological option in those patients who present depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms simultaneously.

What does the DSM say?

Along these lines, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) considers that paroxetine is indicated in the treatment of:

Major depressive disorder.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Panic Disorder with or without Agoraphobia.

Anxiety Disorder or Social Phobia.

Generalized anxiety disorder.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

However, the fact that it is indicated for the treatment of these disorders does not mean that they should always be treated with paroxetine, since there will be some cases in which its use will be appropriate and there will be other cases in which the use of another drug is perhaps more convenient.

That is why to finish I would like to emphasize that all these properties that we have defined about paroxetine must always be evaluated by a medical professional.

Paroxetine, like all drugs, causes a notable alteration in the functioning of the human body, so it must always be a medical professional who decides its administration.

conclusion

By way of summary, we can conclude that paroxetine is a drug that has both antidepressant and anxiolytic properties, which is why it is considered an appropriate drug to treat both depressive and mild anxiety and mixed conditions.

References

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