Prozac: panacea or puzzle?

Selective 5-HT (serotonin) reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) lack many of the adverse side-effects of older antidepressants. One of these compounds, fluoxetine (Prozac), has acquired manifest public awareness that is not evident with other SSRIs. Here, Clare Stanford compares the basic pharmacology of SSRIs to determine whether fluoxetine has any atypical features, and thus provide scientific justification for the attention focused on this compound. Ironically, fluoxetine might be distinctive in that it is the least selective SSRI and has marked effects on catecholamine function in the brain.