Naturally produced human hormone effective as anti-depressant

Since the original release of Prozac in 1986 by Eli Lilly and Company, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, the world--or at least America--seems to have gotten itself into an antidepressent movement. Simply by comparing the number of people whom I now know are on antidepressents to the number of those I knew years ago, I am lead to believe that many more have decided that they, too, are depressed, anxious, moody, or all of the above.

It seems to me that human beings survived for a long while before the existence of antidepressents, but apparently we can no longer live without them. Due to the body's natural ability to grow a tolerance to medications, people tend to notice that their antidepressents aren't quite effective as they once were. That being the case, those of us who are (or may be) antidepressent users for life, will have to gradually increase dosage every few months until whichever drug is being taken will have to be replaced by the newer model, which our body has not had the pleasure of getting to know quite yet.

First came Prozac, then came Zoloft in 1991 from drug manufacturer Pfizer (of late 90s Viagra fame), and then the December 1992 approval of Paxil from SmithKline Beecham, who in 1998 merged with Glaxo Wellcome to form today's GlaxoSmithKline.

These days, antidepressants are likely the most prescribed mood-altering drugs in the country. Many find this amazing simply due to possibility of users to begin having suicidal thoughts or tendencies. As early as 1990, before it even had a competitor, Prozac was "facing multi-million dollar suits" over Prozac because it could "spark violent or suicidal behavior in a fraction of patients". Since then Zoloft and Paxil have had the same such luck, and now contain warnings similar to that of Prozac, stating the possibility of such side effects.

Well the good news is that Oxford University researchers discovered that a naturally occuring hormone produced by the human body, erythropoietin (a.k.a Epo), "regulated the emotional responses of those volunteers that received it, similar to the effects of current antidepressants".

While the development of antidepressant drugs from this hormone, produced by the kidneys and commonly used to treat anaemia, may be years off (yet hopefully sooner), the finding reveals that Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil (as well as other SSRI antidepressants) are no longer the only option to those struggling with anxiety and depression. Perhaps I can soon find myself in less of a danger of "suicidal thoughts" than I am supposed to be in right now.