Antidépresseurs: caractéristiques et modalités d'utilisation des IRSS, IRSNa et NaSSA

After Specific Serotonine Reuptake Inhibitors arrived on the market, two new type of drugs appeared in antidepressant therapy, the Noradrenaline and Serotonine Reuptake Inhibitors (NaSRI) and the Noradrenergic and Serotonine Specific Antidepressants (NaSSA). Thanks to a specific activity on serotonine and/or noradrenaline systems, those three groups of medication appear to be easier to use and with less side effects than the older tricyclic drugs or the Mono Amine Oxydase Inhibitors. Nevertheless, each molecule has its own specificities which require precise usage recommendations. The purpose of this article is to go over the pharmacology of those three families of antidepressants, their pharmacokinetics, their specific characteristics and the precautions to observe while used with specific patients such as elderly people, pregnant women, drug users or teenagers.