Sheldon H. Preskorn – författare

This volume reviews the known neurobiology of depression and combines classic data on antidepressant treatments with modern theory on the physiology of depression. It also discusses novel mechanism of action drugs.

The book reviews clinical trial methodology as it pertains to drug development in psychiatry. The reader will understand the process of drug development in psychiatry from discovery through marketing with the help of clinically relevant examples. The reader will appreciate the history of drug development in psychiatry dating back to the era of serendipitous discovery and culminating in an era of new and highly focused targets. Readers will understand how drug development in psychiatry has changed and adapted with the discovery of novel mechanism of action drugs. Novel drugs and disease targets have changed the way developers and regulatory agencies think about clinical trial methodology.The book elucidates how biomarkers, genetics and advances in neuroscience and neuroimaging have influenced drug development approaches, which will ultimately change the practice of psychiatry. The book will be broken down into the following sections:a.        Prior to the 1960s - Drug discovery by chance observationb.       The last 50 years – refined targeting of CNS drugs without the discovery of mechanistically new drugsc.       The future – the discovery and development of mechanistically new drugs. The examination of new targets, genetics and biomarkers.

The book reviews clinical trial methodology as it pertains to drug development in psychiatry. The reader will understand the process of drug development in psychiatry from discovery through marketing with the help of clinically relevant examples. The reader will appreciate the history of drug development in psychiatry dating back to the era of serendipitous discovery and culminating in an era of new and highly focused targets. Readers will understand how drug development in psychiatry has changed and adapted with the discovery of novel mechanism of action drugs. Novel drugs and disease targets have changed the way developers and regulatory agencies think about clinical trial methodology.The book elucidates how biomarkers, genetics and advances in neuroscience and neuroimaging have influenced drug development approaches, which will ultimately change the practice of psychiatry. The book will be broken down into the following sections:a.        Prior to the 1960s - Drug discovery by chance observationb.       The last 50 years – refined targeting of CNS drugs without the discovery of mechanistically new drugsc.       The future – the discovery and development of mechanistically new drugs. The examination of new targets, genetics and biomarkers.

This book is being published as we mark the end of the first 50 years of the modern antidepressant era. This era began with the chance discovery that tri- clic antidepressants and monoamine oxidase inhibitors had antidepressant p- perties. That discovery had three consequences. First, it brought simple and effective treatment to patients suffering from major depressive illnesses. Second, these discoveries, together with the discovery of lithium and chlorpromazine, began the remedicalization of psychiatry by making it clear that the treatment of many of the major psychiatric illnesses can be approached in the same way as other medical conditions. However, the most far-reaching effect was to provide the first clue as to what mechanisms might underlie antidepressant efficacy, a development that has led to an explosion in the number of available an- depressants and to their widespread use. The goal of this book is to provide a thorough review of the current status of antidepressants—how we arrived at this point in their evolution and where we are going in both the near and the long term. The book employs both a scientific and historical approach to accomplish these goals. The book is intended for practitioners who use antidepressants on a daily basis in their practice as well as for the student and researcher. Each will find that the book provides a comprehensive and logical approach to this important group of medications. The importance of the book is a function of its topic.

This book is being published as we mark the end of the first 50 years of the modern antidepressant era. This era began with the chance discovery that tri- clic antidepressants and monoamine oxidase inhibitors had antidepressant p- perties. That discovery had three consequences. First, it brought simple and effective treatment to patients suffering from major depressive illnesses. Second, these discoveries, together with the discovery of lithium and chlorpromazine, began the remedicalization of psychiatry by making it clear that the treatment of many of the major psychiatric illnesses can be approached in the same way as other medical conditions. However, the most far-reaching effect was to provide the first clue as to what mechanisms might underlie antidepressant efficacy, a development that has led to an explosion in the number of available an- depressants and to their widespread use. The goal of this book is to provide a thorough review of the current status of antidepressants—how we arrived at this point in their evolution and where we are going in both the near and the long term. The book employs both a scientific and historical approach to accomplish these goals. The book is intended for practitioners who use antidepressants on a daily basis in their practice as well as for the student and researcher. Each will find that the book provides a comprehensive and logical approach to this important group of medications. The importance of the book is a function of its topic.