By Randy Magnuson, Apr 22, 2025

Per the Food and Drug Administration, around nine out of every ten prescriptions filled in the US are for generic drugs. What makes them so popular? The big draw for generics is that they’re often less expensive. A large chunk of any drug’s cost comes from the research and testing required to prove that it works and is safe for consumers. Generic drugs require much less testing, since their reference product already proved its safety and efficacy, so they typically cost 80–85% less than their brand-name counterparts. 

Everything else is pretty much identical. The FDA requires that generic drugs have the exact same active ingredient, strength, dosage form (tablet, liquid, etc.), and route of administration (oral, topical, injectable, etc.) as the brand-name medication. So when a generic version of Trintellix comes out, it will work exactly the same way as Trintellix. “Besides increasing serotonin levels (as all SSRIs do), Trintellix also acts directly on serotonin receptors, like the 5HT1A/B—which may improve cognition,” says Dr. Alex Dimitriu, MD, founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. “It also blocks 5HT3 serotonin receptors, which may help with nausea and also add benefits to mood.”

Click HERE for the full article.

By Beth Ann Mayer, Apr 18, 2025

“Late meals or even late snacks can result in elevated metabolism during the night, which can interfere with slow-wave sleep,” explains Dr. Alex Dimitriu, MD, a double board-certified doctor in psychiatry and sleep medicine and the founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. “Slow-wave sleep is sort of the holy grail of cognition and brain health overall. During slow-wave sleep, toxins are cleared from the brain, and new memories are consolidated.”

Click HERE for the full article.

By Jenny McGrath and Suzy Hernandez, Apr, 15, 2025

“Light sleepers may want as few distractions and artificial light as possible,” said Alex Dimitriu, MD, the founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine. “Deep sleepers may want an alarm that is loud or gradually loud, possibly with light or a sunrise simulator to facilitate waking up from a deep slumber.”

Click HERE for the full article.

By Khendra Cherry, Apr 7, 2025

According to Dr. Alex Dimitriu, a double board-certified psychiatrist and sleep medicine specialist, sleep and eczema have a bidirectional relationship. “Sleep and eczema are closely linked, and one can feed off of the other,” he explains.

Click HERE for the full article.

By Erica Sweeney, Mar 26, 2025

But routines should be personal and tailored to your needs and lifestyle, says Dr. Alex Dimitriu, a psychiatrist and sleep medicine physician and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. There’s no “secret sauce” for morning habits that will automatically help you become like someone you admire. Videos like Hall’s may be fun to watch, but Dimitriu urges taking them with “a grain of salt.” 

Click HERE for the full article.

By Lo Styx, Mar 25, 2025

To determine the best medication fit for his patients, psychiatrist Alex Dimitriu, MD, groups symptoms of anxiety into two categories. “I always ask my patients if they feel anxiety more in the mind—rumination, catastrophic thoughts, worry—or the body—racing heart, tight chest, shortness of breath, tremor,” Dimitriu says. “More globally it should be recognized that either beta blockers or other medication such as Xanax or Klonopin are patches. If someone needs a patch too often, it might be better to take something that works all the time, usually SSRIs.”

Click HERE for the full article.

By Lindsey Lanquist, Mar 23, 2025

“Sleep is like a bank account, and it takes time to build up and time to deplete,” says Alex Dimitriu, MD, founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. “Chronic sleep deprivation builds up to moodiness, depression, irritability, more anxiety, less impulse control … and worse, memory.”

Click HERE for the full article.