A Brief History of Common Psychiatric Medications
Psychiatry appeared as a medical specialty in the late 1700s, when the number of patients began to flood the mental asylums. These patients included depressed people with brain tumors, anxiety, dementia, seizures, etc. As there was not much knowledge about medicine, the treatment used at that time was quite harsh and ineffective.
Different anti-depression and anxiety medication names such as serotonin, paroxetine, Prozac, etc. that we know today have a very troubled and long history behind them. Let us turn to walk back to the time when the development of popular psychiatric drugs began;
Identification of the Origin of the Mental Disorders
In treating any disease, it is vital to first understand where it comes from, i.e. the origin of the disease. After decades of struggle, researchers eventually started looking for the brain anatomy to understand the origins of mental diseases in the late nineteenth century.
Initially, their research efforts were ineffective, resulting in a slit in the domain of psychiatry, which, unfortunately, is still visible today. They failed because many mental problems left no record in brain tissues, and the researchers focused solely on the brain because mental disorders appeared to be linked to the brain.
Later on, it was discovered that it is not only the brain but other factors too that cause mental illnesses. One such experiment that led to this discovery was examining the patients that survived World War II but later developed hysteria. It was observed that their nervous system got damaged as a result of the bomb explosion causing hysteria.
With further scientific advancements, it was also discovered that bacterial, viral, and fungal infections could be the origin of mental disorders and the abnormal functioning of the brain too.
Development of Psychiatric Medications
Lithium was the first psychiatric drug that was used in the treatment of mental illnesses, and its medicinal chemistry was identified in 1948. However, because lithium was exclusively accessible in the United States only, employing it as a psychiatric medicine was quite complicated.
Another significant finding was achieved in 1952 when chlorpromazine, which is an antipsychotic medication, was extracted. Neurotransmitters and their interactions in the human body were investigated at the same time, laying the foundation for the development of various psychiatric medicines. Hundreds of psychiatrists throughout the world continue to prescribe these medicines today.
Later on, a new class of antidepressants known as SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) was presented; the first medicine in this class, Prozac, was introduced in early 1987, and other similar drugs such as Zyprexa and Risperdal soon followed. During that time, these pharmaceuticals were primarily used to treat mentally sick persons.
As science improved, so did knowledge of various mental illnesses, and the National Institute of Mental Health designated the 1990s as the Decade of the Brain, allowing people to understand more about their mental states; this marked the period when biological psychiatry appeared to have triumphant.
And of course, something that has always been important when it comes to medication is how it is packaged. Medication adherence packaging is vital here, because the medication itself needs to be stored as well as possible, and there needs to be a surety that it will last a long time too, and that all protocols are followed. So that has also been a vital part of the history of psychiatric medications.
The Fall Of Medicinal Innovations
Despite the 1990s being the Decade of the Brain, the medicinal innovations dried up in the 2000s, and nothing new was discovered. Additionally, the side effects of psychiatric drugs being used previously became the hot news in the town.
People with suicidal thoughts in the past used to get treated with SSRIs, the inhibitors diminished suicidal thoughts in them, but it provoked discontinuation syndromes after the people stopped using them which by no means was a good thing.
Moreover, people using these psychiatric medications also begin to encounter metabolic diseases such as weight loss or gain, diabetes Mellitus, and other medical and physical complications. Adding fuel to the fire, millions of dollars were spent on brain research but all in vain.
On top of that, pharmaceutical companies and mental hospitals started to get fined for promoting expensive treatment for brain disorders and the use of unauthorized drugs, this was certainly a tough period for people with brain disorders.
The Efforts Of NIMH And Present Day Situation
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders i.e DSM Fifth edition was released in 2013, which was opposed by many brain researchers and clinicians as it focused on the use of medicine based on expert consensus and not on experiment-based data. The NIMH refused to apply the formulas of DSM Fifth edition in the treatment of mentally disabled people.
Moreover, today the conditions which were thought to be mental are now considered medical once and psychiatric medications are no longer being used in their treatment, instead, they are treated medically via respective medical procedures.
The association of mental disorders not only with the brain but with other body systems and with certain infections shows that psychiatry is nothing but a medical profession that involves biological research on the brain and other body parts, the complications of which can cause mental disorders so that better and improved psychiatric medications can be formulated.