NEW ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUGS FOR NEW DEPRESSIONS

Aug 23, 2026

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Review of emerging pharmacological options for depressive disorders, focusing on innovations in depressive psychopathology and modern psychopharmacology. Worldwide and Italian data are discussed to explain rising antidepressant use and concerns about inappropriate prescribing for reactive versus endogenous depression. The paper outlines treatment guidance that prioritizes psychotherapy alongside or independent of medication, then details newer agents including vilazodone, vortioxetine, and agomelatine with mechanisms, safety considerations, tolerability, and potential to shorten onset of therapeutic effects.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

Summary

Introduction

New Antidepressant Drugs

Vilazodone

Vortioxetine

Agomelatine

Psychiatria Danubina, 2014; Vol. 26, Suppl. 1, pp 115–116 Conference paper © Medicinska naklada-Zagreb, Croatia NEW ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUGS FOR NEW DEPRESSIONS Alfredo Juli1 & Luigi Juli2 1Catanzaro, Italy 2Mental Health Deptartment, Catanzaro, Italy SUMMARY Although depressive disorders have been known for centuries, drug treatment is relatively recent. It was only in the 1950s, when studyof a drug for tuberculosis, Iproniazid,that its antidepressant propertieswere identified. After 50 years more selective and specic drugs have been discovered. The authors review not only new realities in depressive psychopathology, but also the latest innovations of psychopharmacology. Key words: depression-antidepressant drugs-psychopharmacology * * * * * INTRODUCTION Several statistical worldwide as well as Italian studies, have shown that the use of psychoactive drugs, such as antidepressants, is steadily increasing (Olesen et al. 2012, Kessler et al. 2009) . This figure is linked to the phenomenon of violence against women: from the psychological pressure to physical and sexual violence, to femicide and the involvement of the families of the victims. The increased demand for antidepressants drugs maybe related to inappropriate uses, in that they are prescribed mostly for reactive depression which has little to do with endogenous depression, which is designated as a serious psychological illness. At the beginning of 60s the so-called "happy pill" began to make a way into the pharmaceutical market: the older tricyclic antidepressants drugs also known as TAD. During the ages, more drugs were added in order tobe more specific and less toxic than the previous molecules. They belong to different chemical classes and interact more selectively with neuronal transmission involved in controlling mood. Thus, scientific research produced the atypical antidepressants drugs (AAD) . It has been reported that there is an improvement of 40-80 % of recovery in people taking these drugs and of these only 30% achieved a complete remission whatever the combination of drugs taken. Despite the pharmaceutical companies offering a wide range of antidepressant medications, research programs continue in order to create new molecules. The most important achievement is the perfecting of effectiveness of therapeutic response, as it is obvious that no drug is fully effective in determining the complete remission in all patients. NEW ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUGS What are the new features of antidepressant treatments? Several antidepressant treatment guidelines emphasize the importance of psychotherapy (APA 2010, NICE 2009) whether related or not to pharmacotherapy, according to the therapeutic indications pointed by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Agenzia Italiana del Farmaco (AIFA) . Lately, a new drug, called Vilazodone has been approved. Our attention is focused on how this new molecule differs from those already on the market in terms of safety and efficacy, and how there can be more opportunities for patients. Vilazodone, approved by FDA in 2011 as an antidepressant medication,is derived from SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) class that is used in mood disorders. It increases serotonin levels through inhibition of the re-uptake of the serotonin transporter (SERT), in a similar way to the other molecules belonging to the class of SSRIs. It acts as a partial agonist of 5-HT 1A (5-hydroxytriptamine or serotonin) receptors that play a key role both in antidepressant activity and anxiety. The stimulation of these receptors leads to an initial decrease of serotonergic transmission, inhibition of autoreceptors, and their prolonged stimulation determines the desensitization or down-regulation with consequent increase of the transmission itself. The range between the inhibition and disinhibition time of serotonergic transmission may explain how long the needed treatments to reduce the symptoms can be. It can be assume

FAQs

Why has antidepressant use increased according to the paper?

The paper notes rising global and Italian use of psychoactive drugs such as antidepressants and links the trend to inappropriate prescribing patterns, especially for reactive depression rather than endogenous depression.

What mechanism is described for vilazodone and how does it relate to treatment effect?

Vilazodone is derived from the SSRI class by inhibiting serotonin reuptake via SERT, and it acts as a partial agonist of 5-HT1A receptors. The combined inhibitory and disinhibitory timing is suggested to reduce onset time and improve anxiety-related states.

What distinguishes vortioxetine and agomelatine from standard antidepressants?

Vortioxetine is described as a multimodal agent acting on multiple 5-HT receptor subtypes in addition to reuptake inhibition, with better tolerability for anxious-depressive syndromes. Agomelatine is described as an MT1/MT2 agonist and 5-HT2C antagonist that resynchronizes circadian rhythms and limits side effects by not directly blocking serotonergic transmission.

Aug 23, 2026

Upload by Kyle