Psychiatric Disorders: Types, Symptoms, and Treatment

Psychiatric disorder
Psychiatric disorders is an
umbrella term that refers to
the presence of a mental
illness, which is diagnosed by
a healthcare professional.
These disorders create a
significant negative impact on
mood, thinking pattern, and/or
behavior, and also increase the
likelihood of the affected
person to suffer from pain,
loss of freedom, disability or
death (Marin, 2016). The
symptoms might be severe
than anticipated and are often
manifested in the form of a
response to an upsetting
situation, or traumatic event.
Common psychiatric disorders
are namely, ADHD,
depression, anxiety,
Major depressive
disorder
Also referred to as depression, MDD
is characterized by the presence of
persistent low mood under most
circumstances, generally
accompanied by loss of interest in
activities, poor self-esteem, pain
without a definite cause, and low
energy (Otte et al., 2016).
Signs and symptoms
 Lack of confidence
 Overwhelmed
 Irritability and feelings of
guilt
 Frustration and feeling
miserable
 Persistent unhappiness
 Disappointment and social
withdrawal (Flory & Yehuda,
2015)
Diagnosis
 Hamilton Rating Scale for
Depression
 Suicide Behaviors
Questionnaire-Revised
 Beck Depression Inventory
Target population
MDD is a common mental disorder and
affects an estimated 300 million
individuals on a global scale. It has been
identified to be a major cause of global
disability and affects more females than
males. It can also lead to suicide. There
were roughly 80,000 death due to suicide
each year (WHO, 2018).
Antidepressants
These drugs are commonly used for the
treatment of MDD, along with anxiety
disorder and chronic health conditions. This
class of drugs reduce MDD symptoms by
rectifying the chemical imbalance produced
in the brain due to neurotransmitter release
and also help in enhancing behavior and
mood among the patients (Kremer et al.,
2016). Two common antidepressants are
escitalopram and fluoxetine.

Escitalopram
1. Name- Escitalopram
2. Indication- Major depressive
disorder (MDD) and generalized
anxiety disorder (GAD) in
labeled medications
3. Dosing- 10 mg orally
administered, once a day,
followed by an increase to 20
mg. 10-20 mg maintenance
dosage, for once in a day, and 20
mg maximum dosage for
treating depression. Longer
dosage might be required for
acute episodes of depression
(Drug Bank, 2019).
4. Contraindication- It should not
be administered to people who
have low sodium and potassium
levels in blood. Patients
reporting mild mania, manic
depression, increased bleeding
risks, and symptoms of
inappropriate antidiuretic
hormone release must also not
be administered this medication.
5. Precautions- Progress of the
patient must be regularly
checked by the doctor, in order
to lower side effects. The drug
should not be administered with
monoamine oxidase inhibitor
(MAO), or during the first two
weeks of taking MAO inhibitor.
Escitalopram must not be taken
with pimozide, as it can cause
cardiovascular problems. It can
also lead to serious serotonin
syndrome when used with
medicines for migraine or pain
(Wang, Sanlan & Chen, 2018).
6. Drug and food interaction- The
drug can be taken without any
regard to meals. Total 1144
drugs interact with escitalopram
with 389 being major drug
interactions. Some of the most
common drugs include
aripriprazole, acetaminophen,
aspirin, benadryl, caffeine, and
buproprion.
7. Side effects- Dry mouth,
dizziness, nausea, sexual
dysfunction, drowsiness, and
headache.
Research information
Name- Efficacy and safety of
escitalopram in treatment of severe
depression in Chinese population.
Type- Experimental study.
Participants- 225 patients with
severe MDD.
Length- 8 weeks.
Treatment-10–20 mg/d Escitalopram.
Goal- To determine the safety and
effectiveness of escitalopram for
depression management.
Result-72.9% remission rate at 8th
week. Improvements observed in
week 1, 2, 4, and 8(p < 0.0001) for
HAMD-17 MADRS, and HAMA
scores. 28.38% patients reported
treatment-emergent adverse events
(TEAEs) (Si et al., 2017).
Limitation- Small sample size, open-

Fluoxetine
1. Name- Fluoxetine
2. Indication- Major depressive
disorder (MDD), moderate to
severe bulimia nervosa,
premenstrual dysphoric disorder
(PMDD), obsessive-compulsive
disorder (OCD), in labeled
medications. Unlabeled indications
comprise of mild dementia related
agitation, bipolar I, social anxiety
disorder, post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD), and Raynaud's
phenomenon.
3. Dosing- 20 mg orally administered
once every day, in the morning,
followed by an increase after
numerous weeks under conditions
when satisfactory clinical
improvements are not witnessed.
Maintenance dosage is 20-60 mg
administered orally each day
Maximum dosage should not
exceed 80 mg oral administration
(Drug Bank, 2019).
4. Contraindication- It should not be
administered to patients with
diabetes, increased bleeding risk,
mild mania, manic depression, low
sodium levels in blood, inaccurate
5. Precautions- The drug might increase
likelihood of having suicidal ideations
and behavior among adolescents and
children. Patients should be closely
monitored for worsening of symptoms
or generation of suicidal thoughts.
Caregivers and family members need
to keep a close surveillance over the
patients. The drug must not be
administered among children aged less
than 7 years.
6. Drug and food interaction- Patients
being administered this drug must
avoid alcohol consumption.
Consuming it along with food helps in
reducing nausea and irritation. An
estimated 1143 drugs interact with
fluoxetine, with 277 being major drug
interactions. Some of those drugs are
amoxicillin, aspirin, bupropion,
adderall, and diazepam.
7. Side effects- Dry mouth, dizziness,
nausea, sexual dysfunction,
drowsiness, and headache (Sakr et al.,
2015).
Research information
Name- Fluoxetine Inhibits NLRP3
Inflammasome Activation: Implication
in Depression
Type- Experimental study.
Participants- Use of chronic mild
stress model and cultured primary
microglia/macrophage
Length- 5 weeks.
Treatment-CMS procedure used for
housed male mice, after subjecting
them to stressors, all during the course
of fluoxetine treatment period.
Goal- To determine the implication of
fluoxetine mediated NLRP3
Inflammasome Activation inhibition in
depression.
Result- Fluoxetine was able to bring
about a significant suppression of
NLRP3 inflammasome activation,