What is the Difference between Lexapro vs. Celexa?

Lexapro the brand name which contains the basic drug Escitalopram is an anti depressant and it is used to cure generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorders in adults. The drug is of SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) class and is approved by FDA. Escitalopram is the S-stereoisomer of the drug Citalopram, hence it is named Escitalopram.

Escitalopram has a very high SSRI and therefore has very less side effects which are not related to its serotonergic performance. The drug is considered to be the best in terms of acceptability and efficacy in the treatment of acute depression according to a meta analysis of 12 generation anti depressants. The drug works by increasing the levels of neurotransmitters serotonin by blocking its reuptake into the neurons. It is found to have the highest affinity for serotonin transporter in humans.

Celexa, the brand name which produces the drug citalopram, is also an anti depressant with SSRI class. The drug is used to treat depression in adults and is approved by FDA. The drug is used to treat OCD, panic disorders, and certain types of eating disorders too like anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are also treated with this drug.

The drug works by improving the levels of neurotransmitters, called serotonin in the brain through blocking its uptake in the neurons.

What is the difference between Lexapro vs. Celexa?

Both the drugs seem to perform similar function in the body and used in the treatment of depression in adults, however there is a huge difference between the two. Chemically, the drug citalopram is a mixture of S and R - enantiomers. But over the years it was found that the R - enantiomers does not contribute to the treatment of depression, and therefore a new drug was derived by leaving out R-enantiomers. This new drug had Escitalopram with S stereoisomer of citalopram with the brand name Lexapro.

Apart from the chemical constitution of the drug lexapro, there are huge differences between lexapro and celexa. The drug is reported to have many advantages over Celexa, its predecessor. The first and foremost difference is the technology used to produce lexapro. The drug lexapro was designed using the latest single isomer isolation technology which largely magnifies the safety and effectiveness of the drug.

The second difference is the potency of the drug. Lexapro has a recommended dose of 10mg per day whereas Celexa has a comparatively higher dose of 40mg per day. In other words Lexapro strikes at the disease with less power and more precision.

Another difference that the drug has is in terms of its response in the patients' body. Lexapro showed significant improvement within one to two weeks of the beginning of the treatment in a patient. Clinical tests involving 1,100 patients including men and women aged 18-25 with severe depression conditions proved that Lexapro was much superior to Citalopram in terms of responsiveness.

Safety profile of Lexapro and Celexa

In terms of safety, the evaluation of the two drugs is a difficult job, as both the drugs show their common or less common side effects on the patients. Among these two anti depressants, it is far more difficult to analyze as to which is safer. The same side effects which are associated with Celexa appeared with Lexapro as well. Symptoms like vomiting, nausea, fatigue, drowsiness, insomnia, blurred vision, fever, body ache and lot other such adverse side effects are common to both the drugs. But it was found that patients using Celexa sometimes experienced tremor, diarrhea, and dry mouth, the side effects not typical for Lexapro. So to some extent Lexapro seems convincing over Celexa.

Side effects

What is the difference between lexapro vs. celexa? It has been experienced largely that the withdrawal symptoms of both the drugs are more or less the same. If a patient abruptly stops the use of any of the antidepressants, he/she is bound to experience certain withdrawal symptoms which are common to both the drugs like high body temperature, visual hallucination, nightmares, aggression, agitation, sleep disturbance, irritability, vertigo, blurred vision, abdominal pains, joint and muscle pain etc.

The symptoms are prompted due to the fact that the drug left the body much quickly by the patient stopping its intake abruptly. If the side effects of the drug are experienced by the patients he should never stop the drug use rather seek the advice of his doctor who recommends a deliberate tapering off the drug instead of its discontinuation.

Conclusion

It can be safely concluded that Lexapro is safer and gives the desired results rather quickly than Celexa. However, they are quite different drugs and are not interchangeable.