Prozac – Antidepressant Medication
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Prozac (fluoxetine) is an antidepressant medication that is the only newer drug approved to treat depressed children. Studies suggest that younger people respond to Prozac with very small doses, and that a sizable portion of young people who do not respond to other antidepressants do respond to Prozac.
Introduced in 1988, Prozac was the first of a new class of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which increase the levels of a neurotransmitter called serotonin. Many people who are depressed have low levels of this chemical and therefore improve when serotonin levels rise. Like other pharmaceutical interventions for depression, Prozac is usually prescribed as part of a treatment plan that includes psychosocial interventions.