Celexa Information and Birth Defects

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Citalopram, marketed as Celexa, is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant used to treat major depression and is often prescribed off-label to treat a wide variety of conditions. Originally created in 1989 by the pharmaceutical company Lundbeck, Celexa is an SSRI antidepressant that is occasionally used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD).

Today, Forest Laboratories manufactures and markets Celexa, along with a very similar and a more potent SSRI antidepressant called Lexapro. Celexa (citalopram) and Lexapro (escitalopram) share a very similar pharmacological make-up.

How are Celexa and Lexapro similar? Imagine the molecular configuration below printed off on a piece of paper pressed against a mirror—Celexa is made of both the paper and the mirror image, and Lexapro is just the mirror image. Or imagine two hands pressed together—Celexa is both hands and Lexapro is just the left hand.

Detailed Celexa Information

Pharmaceutical: Celexa

Manufacturer: Forest Laboratories

Generic name: citalopram

Drug Class: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)

CAS Number: 59729-33-8

Guidelines:

Celexa (citalopram) is used to treat symptoms associated with major depression. The drug is administered orally in the form of a tablet. Warning:the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned physicians against prescribing more than 40 milligrams of citalopram per day due to a risk of changing the electrical activity of the heart, which can be fatal.

Contraindications:

• Celexa is contraindicated for people taking a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI). Use of MAOIs within two weeks of Celexa treatment can cause serotonin syndrome.
• Celexa should also not be taken with St. John’s Wort, tryptophan.​