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Old Aug 31, 2009, 08:45 PM
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fallenangel337 fallenangel337 is offline
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Member Since: Jun 2009
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sunrise View Post
No, they're different. That last sentence is backwards. Lexapro is the new generation of Celexa (but they are chemically different). The generic of Celexa (brand name) is citalopram (true chemical name). The true chemical name of Lexapro is escitalopram, and there is no generic yet. In chemistry, molecules can be either one of two forms (kind of like right and left "handedness"), so they can have the same chemical formula but be different. Sometimes the two forms (called S and R) behave quite differently from one another. Celexa/citalopram is a mixture of the two forms (called a "racemic mixture"). Lexapro/escitalopram is the pure S form of the molecule. (So Celexa does indeed contain part Lexapro.) It is the S form of the molecule that contains the property of inhibiting serotonin reuptake. Fallenangel, I'm not sure how much biochemistry pdocs really know, so your pdoc may not understand the difference between Celexa and Lexapro, or he may just have tried to give you a layman's explanation. Anyway, that's the story on these drugs, from a scientist's perspective.
That makes a LOT more sense now--thank you. Maybe I accidentally switched the concept around in my head...it's very possible that pdoc told me the correct explanation, and I messed it up in my head. Thank you again for explaining that to me.
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