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Depression is a common psychological disorder affecting over 250 million people worldwide. Patients usually present symptoms such as depressed mood, decreased pleasure, loss of appetite and sleeping problems. Besides psychotherapy, depression can be treated with antidepressants. However, clinical improvement may take a few weeks to occur. Patients should be closely monitored for any increased suicidal risk until such improvement occurs. Antidepressants should be discontinued gradually to reduce the risk of withdrawal symptoms.

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)
SSRIs are the first-line treatment option for depression. They are better tolerated than older antidepressants such as TCAs and MAOIs. Escitalopram is an S-enantiomer of citalopram, one of the first marketed SSRI, and is more effective in achieving acute response and remission rate than citalopram.

Serotonin Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs)
SNRIs are the preferred treatment option when SSRIs are not effective or tolerated. Venlafaxine has been found to significantly decreases the severity of depression more than SSRIs, suggesting that it may be marginally more effective than SSRIs.

Antipsychotics
Several antipsychotics also exert antidepressant activity, possibly as a 5-HT1A partial agonist. Extended-release Quetiapine is indicated for the treatment of recurrent depression.