Antidepressants
Tuesday, 26 Feb 2008 11:38
Antidepressants may not be effective at treating all patients with depression
How effective antidepressants are has been called into question after a study by British researchers claimed they are no better than dummy drugs for the majority of patients.
The team at Hull University found that 'new generation' antidepressants such as Prozac only benefit some very severely depressed patients.
Makers of the drugs studied have urged caution over the findings and patients are advised to see their GP before making any decisions about their medication.
For the latest study, published in the journal PLoS Medicine, the researchers reviewed data on clinical benefit from trials submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration for the drugs Prozac (fluoxetine), Seroxat (paroxetine), Effexor (venlafaxine) and Serzone (nefazodone).
The results showed that, compared to people receiving a placebo (dummy drug), the improvement in depression amongst patients receiving the trial drug was not clinically significant in mildly depressed patients or in most patients who suffer from very severe depression.
The only benefit of antidepressants was seen in a small group of patients who were the most extremely depressed.
"Although patients get better when they take antidepressants, they also get better when they take a placebo, and the difference in improvement is not very great," said researcher Professor Irving Kirsch.
"This means that depressed people can improve without chemical treatments."
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