纪录片《药物依赖》 第20期：百忧解（在线收听）

In the 1950s,

20世纪50年代

depression was a strictly private affair.

抑郁症绝对是一件隐秘的事情

Those that sought help got little in return.

那些寻求帮助的人几乎得不到回馈

The few drugs that were

只存在的寥寥数种药物

on offer were unlikely to lift your spirits.

却几乎无法改善人们的心情

You would have dry mouth,

你会遇到口干

blurred vision, problems passing urine.

视线模糊 排尿困难的问题

You'd feel knocked out and dopey.

你会觉得神志不清 反应迟钝

It would be barely better

这种状况比你

than the situation you were actually in to start with.

服药前的情况好不了多少

It all changed when a new wave of drugs came along.

一种新药物的到来 改变了这一切

Scientists had realised that a brain chemical,

科学家意识到 一种大脑中的化学物质

serotonin, affects our mood.

血清素 影响着我们的情绪

If they could find a way to boost

如果他们能够找到一种

the amount of serotonin in the brain,

提高大脑中血清素含量的方法

it could improve our sense of wellbeing.

就能够提高我们的幸福感

They tested hundreds of compounds

他们检验了数百种化合物

and managed to create a new class of drugs

最终成功研制出了一种药物

that had a fraction of the

它消除了

side effects of the older anti-depressants.

传统抑郁症治疗药物的副作用

This group was termed

这组化合物被命名为

selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors,

选择性血清素再吸收抑制剂

SSRIs.

简称SSRIs

Soon they were known simply by the

很快人们便熟知了其商品名

brand name of the first one on the market, Prozac.

这也是市场上首次出现此类药物 百忧解