Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Anything, and especially a drug, used to prevent or treat depression. The available antidepressant drugs include the SSRIs or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, MAOIs or monoamine oxidase inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, tetracyclic antidepressants, and others. Examples of SSRIs or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors include: citalopram (Celexa, Cipramil) escitalopram oxalate (Cipralex, Lexapro) fluvoxamine maleate (Luvox) paroxetine (Paxil, Seroxat, Aropax) fluoxetine (Prozac) sertraline (Zoloft, Lustral) Examples…

One of a class of medications used to treat depression. The tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) are also used for some forms of anxiety, fibromyalgia, and the control of chronic pain. “Tricyclic” refers to the presence of three rings in the chemical structure of these drugs.

A selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), one of the commonly prescribed drugs for treating depression. SSRIs affect the chemicals that nerves in the brain use to send messages to one another. These chemical messengers, called neurotransmitters, are released by one nerve and taken up by other nerves. Neurotransmitters that are not taken up by other nerves are taken…

Monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI), a potent class of medications used to treat depression. This group of antidepressants have many serious drug interactions, which may limit their use.

Anything, and especially a drug, used to prevent or treat depression. The available antidepressant drugs include the SSRIs or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, MAOIs or monoamine oxidase inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, tetracyclic antidepressants, and others. Antidepressants should not be used unless the depression is severe and/or other treatments have failed. As with all drugs, the use of antidepressants requires monitoring for side effects, and suicide should be considered…

A medication used to control (prevent) seizures (convulsions) or stop an ongoing series of seizures. There are a large number of anticonvulsant drugs today including, but not limited to: phenobarbital, phenytoin (Dilantin), carbamazepine, levetiracetam (Keppra), ethosuximide (Zarontin), clonazepam (Klonopin), diazepam (Valium), lorazepam (Ativan), and midazolam (Versed). Anticonvulsant drugs taken during pregnancy put the baby at risk of major birth defects — growth retardation, microcephaly (a small head) and deformities of the face and fingers — a condition known as anticonvulsant…

A medication used to prevent the formation of blood clots and to maintain open blood vessels. Anticoagulants are called blood “thinners,” but they do not thin the blood, they only prevent or reduce clots, or thrombi. Anticoagulants have various uses. Some are used for the prophylaxis (prevention) or the treatment of thromboembolic disorders, such as stroke, heart attack (myocardial infarction) and deep…

An agent that is used to prevent the formation of blood clots. Anticoagulants have various uses. Some are used for the prevention or treatment of disorders characterized by abnormal blood clots and emboli. Examples of diseases and conditions that require anticoagulant treatment to reduce the risk of blood clots include heart attack, stroke, deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and atrial fibrillation. There are different…

The normal mourning that occurs when a patient or family is expecting a death. Anticipatory grief has many of the same symptoms as those experienced after a death has occurred. It includes all of the thinking, feeling, cultural, and social reactions to an expected death that are felt by the patient and family. Anticipatory grief includes depression, extreme concern for…

The progressively earlier appearance and increased severity of a disease from generation to generation. The phenomenon of anticipation was once thought to be an artifact, but a biological basis for it has been discovered in a number of genetic disorders, such as myotonic dystrophy and Huntington disease.