A Downer or Upper?: New Controversial Study on Antidepressants Cries Foul
A new medical study is causing an uproar as it so boldly suggests that many of today's leading antidepressants, including Prozac, Paxil and Effexor, are no more effective than placebo pills that are given to equally ailing mental health patients. As you can imagine, this has upset many researchers and doctors in the mental health industry, especially those whose livelihood is dependent upon prescribing such medications.
The findings were published in the February issue of PloS Medicine, and researchers report in the article that when taken as a whole, only a small group of patients responded more positively than those who took placebos. In conclusion, most patients who are on antidepressant medications need not be.
While this provocative new research is causing a stir, the very people who reported such facts are quick to recognize that the information does in fact contradict several studies which show a positive impact in those taking pills. The American Psychiatric Association President-elect Nada Stotland, MD has come out to say that a study such as this new one, which compares one specific drug to a placebo, cannot accurately reflect the way doctors prescribe antidepressants to most patients.
She goes on to say that many people who are depressed do not respond to the first medication they try, or in some instances, even the first several. Thus, testing one specific drug on a group of affected people will obviously show that many do not improve.
So why the worry? This could partly be due to the fact our society still places such a stigma on the mentally ill and the help they receive. Many people still associate antidepressants with weakness or "crazy" behavior, and they are far from being supported as strongly as physical medications are. This can cause even the most sophisticated of researchers to jump all over the opportunity to disprove the efficiency of certain medications, leading to a new wave of doubt and speculation that both the traditional medical community and modern day media love.
There has also been plenty of evidence to support long term physical damage when particular medications are used continuously for many years. For this reason, less conventional doctors can use new studies such as this one as a platform to argue that antidepressants are not a constructive nor helpful way out of the debilitating life depression creates for an individual.
However despite all of this, talk therapy and medication prescriptions continue to be the most widely accepted way to treat severe depression. Many doctors are able to prescribe an appropriate medication on the first or second try, enabling them to help suffering individuals each year. Dr. Ronald R. Fieve, a psychopharmacologist and professor at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York recently stated that patients also must realize it can take up to 6 weeks for some medications to take effect. In his personal practice, 65% have seen improvement on the first antidepressant given, with 85% meeting success on the second or third.
In other words, society shouldn’t give up hope on antidepressant medications quite yet. There is plenty of research to be done, and out of the studies that have been completed, many more point to positive outcomes rather than negative conclusions as this most recent study has shown.
The findings were published in the February issue of PloS Medicine, and researchers report in the article that when taken as a whole, only a small group of patients responded more positively than those who took placebos. In conclusion, most patients who are on antidepressant medications need not be.
While this provocative new research is causing a stir, the very people who reported such facts are quick to recognize that the information does in fact contradict several studies which show a positive impact in those taking pills. The American Psychiatric Association President-elect Nada Stotland, MD has come out to say that a study such as this new one, which compares one specific drug to a placebo, cannot accurately reflect the way doctors prescribe antidepressants to most patients.
She goes on to say that many people who are depressed do not respond to the first medication they try, or in some instances, even the first several. Thus, testing one specific drug on a group of affected people will obviously show that many do not improve.
So why the worry? This could partly be due to the fact our society still places such a stigma on the mentally ill and the help they receive. Many people still associate antidepressants with weakness or "crazy" behavior, and they are far from being supported as strongly as physical medications are. This can cause even the most sophisticated of researchers to jump all over the opportunity to disprove the efficiency of certain medications, leading to a new wave of doubt and speculation that both the traditional medical community and modern day media love.
There has also been plenty of evidence to support long term physical damage when particular medications are used continuously for many years. For this reason, less conventional doctors can use new studies such as this one as a platform to argue that antidepressants are not a constructive nor helpful way out of the debilitating life depression creates for an individual.
However despite all of this, talk therapy and medication prescriptions continue to be the most widely accepted way to treat severe depression. Many doctors are able to prescribe an appropriate medication on the first or second try, enabling them to help suffering individuals each year. Dr. Ronald R. Fieve, a psychopharmacologist and professor at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York recently stated that patients also must realize it can take up to 6 weeks for some medications to take effect. In his personal practice, 65% have seen improvement on the first antidepressant given, with 85% meeting success on the second or third.
In other words, society shouldn’t give up hope on antidepressant medications quite yet. There is plenty of research to be done, and out of the studies that have been completed, many more point to positive outcomes rather than negative conclusions as this most recent study has shown.