My Favorite Organic Molecule: Fluoxetine.

Fluoxetine is my favorite organic molecule. It is better known as Prozac. It is used as an anti-depressant. I am a psychology major and am interested in all the chemical reactions that occur in the brain that cause or cure depression and anxiety, therefore this molecule is very interesting to me.

Fluoxetine was first allowed to be used for treatment in Belgium in 1986 and then a year later in the USA. However, it was first discovered in 1977 by scientists from Eli Lilly and Company. It is useful for several different kinds of psychological disorders, for example; obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, bulimia, and panic disorder.

The way that Fluoxetine helps patients is that it regulates their serotonin levels. Serotonin is an important hormone in humans that regulates mood. Fluoxetine  is called a serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) which basically means that it stops the brain from transporting serotonin away and therefore increasing the serotonin levels in the brain.

This is my attempt at drawing Fluoxetine on paint:

Sources:

http://www.reciprocalnet.org/recipnet/showsamplebasic.jsp?sampleId=27344049

http://feciklab.blogspot.com/2011/06/jesse-venturas-prozac-ignorance.html