Minimolecule may explain how antidepressants work

Prozac increases levels of a microRNA

Scientists have uncovered a new chemical process that may explain how antidepressants like Prozac work. The newly found mechanism also suggests why the drugs take weeks to start helping and may one day point to new therapies for depression.

A team from Paris has found that fluoxetine, commonly known as Prozac, increases the amount of a particular microRNA called miR-16 in the brain.