Author: Colin Davidson, Professor of Neuropharmacology, University of Lancashire

Symptoms can return despite continued antidepressant treatment, but this does not necessarily mean the body has become tolerant to the medicine. Vitalii Vodolazskyi/Shutterstock Antidepressant use continues to rise. In England, 96 million antidepressant prescription items were dispensed to an estimated 9.1 million patients in 2025 to 2026. These medicines are prescribed for depression and other […]

Tinnakorn jorruang/Shutterstock.com A sedative developed for cats and dogs is turning up in Scotland’s illicit drug supply. Medetomidine has been found in a fifth of heroin samples in Scotland, and there is no proven antidote if someone overdoses. Often called a new street drug, medetomidine was actually first developed as a sedative more than 50 […]