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l'Information Psychiatrique. Volume 81, Number 9, 803-10, Novembre 2005, De l’adulte à l’enfant

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Author(s) : Linnea Hjalmarsson, Maurice Corcos, Philippe Jeammet

Summary : Biological treatment and prescription in children and adolescents suffering from a major depressive episode.This overview of the literature concerns biological treatments in the course of a major depressive episode in children and adolescents: tricyclic antidepressants, Serotonin reuptake inhibitors, sismotherapy and other alternatives. From the basis of this overview, the benefits and types of prescription are examined. The risk of suicide during a state of depression, especially in teenagers, cannot be removed by prescribing antidepressant treatment. Improved clinical assessment (diagnosis and risk of suicide), regular codified monitoring, and close collaboration with the teenager and his immediate entourage are required in order to reduce the risk of suicide, where drug prescription is indicated.

Keywords : major depressive episode, depression, adolescence, drug prescription, antidepressant, SSRIs, tricyclic antidepressants, sismotherapy