Certain medications, including antidepressants, increase serotonin in the brain, which can trigger a reaction called serotonin syndrome. Explanations.
- Too much serotonin in the brain can cause serotonin syndrome, also called serotonin syndrome.
- This is characterized by fever, muscle spasms, anxiety or delirium.
- This syndrome is usually caused by taking medications that increase serotonin, such as antidepressants.
Usually, serotonin is associated with something positive since this neurotransmitter plays a role in regulating mood. A deficiency can have a negative effect, but a surplus can also be harmful.
Too much serotonin in the brain causes this syndrome
If a patient has too much serotonin in the brain, which can happen with taking certain medications including antidepressants, this can trigger a reaction called serotonin syndrome or serotonin syndrome.
This reaction can have serious consequences for patients. Indeed, according to MSD Manualthis can be “potentially life-threatening causing elevated body temperature, muscle spasms, and anxiety or delirium.”
Inform your doctor to avoid drug interactions
To treat serotonin syndrome, you must stop taking the drug(s) responsible for this buildup of serotonin. “Serotonin Syndrome can be due to taking therapeutic drugs, overdose of certain drugs, or more commonly, adverse drug interactions when two drugs that both stimulate serotonin receptors are taken at the same time”, can we read in the site of the MSD Manual.
Thus, when prescribing, it is imperative to tell your doctor all the drugs you are taking, even if these are delivered without a prescription. Indeed, even over-the-counter ones can affect serotonin production. Thus, if he has all the necessary information, the practitioner will be able to anticipate possible drug interactions and avoid the patient the risk of serotonin syndrome.
In France, 12.5% of people aged 18 to 85 would have had a major depressive episode in the 12 months preceding the survey of Health barometer conducted in 2021 by Public Health France.