Influence of fluoxetine antidepressant, also in future

2018/12/13 Galarraga Aiestaran, Ana - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Medikuntza
• Farmakologia
• Osasuna

The drug Fluoxetine, first marketed as Probac, is widely used for the treatment of depression, even in pregnant women. Now, researchers at the University of Otawa have warned of the need to know more about its influence, as experiments on zebra fish have shown that the effects of the drug are also noticeable to future generations.

During the experiment, male zebrafish embryos were exposed to fluoxetine for six days. Subsequently, they were followed and saw that their cortisol level was low (in depression the cortisol level is usually high), and that this decrease persisted even in adulthood. Moreover, in the next three generations the level of cortisol was also lower than normal. Along with this, there is a loss of tendency to explore the environment.

They recalled that in people the low level of cortisol is associated with chronic fatigue and other alterations. Therefore, researchers have requested a better study of the long-term consequences of fluoxetine and its use by pregnant women.