Escitalopram
LexaproPubChem CID 146570 · 3D model
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Increases the amount of the mood-regulating chemical serotonin available in the brain by blocking its reabsorption by nerve cells.
How it works
Escitalopram is the purified, more active half of an older drug called citalopram, and it works by selectively targeting serotonin, a brain chemical involved in mood and anxiety. Nerve cells normally reabsorb serotonin after releasing it, but escitalopram blocks that reabsorption pump, so more serotonin stays available between nerve cells. Over a period of weeks, this leads to lasting changes in how brain circuits that regulate mood and anxiety communicate, which is why the full effect isn't felt right away. Because it's highly selective for serotonin, it tends to avoid the side effects tied to older antidepressants that also affected other brain chemical systems.
What it’s used for
Escitalopram is FDA-approved to treat major depression in adults and adolescents (age 12+), for both short-term relief and longer-term maintenance, and to treat generalized anxiety disorder in adults and children as young as 7.
- Mechanism
- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)
- Drug class
- Small molecule
- Therapeutic area
- CNS / Psychiatric