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posted by martyb on Friday February 23 2018, @01:55AM   Printer-friendly
from the things-are-looking-up dept.

Anti-depressants: Major study finds they work

Scientists say they have settled one of medicine's biggest debates after a huge study found that anti-depressants work. The study, which analysed data from 522 trials involving 116,477 people, found 21 common anti-depressants were all more effective at reducing symptoms of acute depression than dummy pills. But it also showed big differences in how effective each drug is.

The authors of the report, published in the Lancet [open, DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32802-7] [DX], said it showed many more people could benefit from the drugs. There were 64.7 million prescriptions for the drugs in England in 2016 - more than double the 31 million in 2006 - but there has been a debate about how effective they are, with some trial[s] suggesting they are no better than placebos. The Royal College of Psychiatrists said the study "finally puts to bed the controversy on anti-depressants".

The so-called meta-analysis, which involved unpublished data in addition to the information from the 522 clinical trials involving the short-term treatment of acute depression in adults, found the medications were all more effective than placebos. However, the study found they ranged from being a third more effective than a placebo to more than twice as effective.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 23 2018, @10:36AM (6 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 23 2018, @10:36AM (#642309)

    You have nothing to lose by trying them.

    The long lists of side-effects would like a word with you.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 23 2018, @03:22PM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 23 2018, @03:22PM (#642400)

    The side effects of depression are quite debilitating too. Sometimes, it's fatal.

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by JNCF on Friday February 23 2018, @06:04PM (4 children)

      by JNCF (4317) on Friday February 23 2018, @06:04PM (#642503) Journal

      True, but saying "you have nothing to lose by trying them" is wrong. I have boners and bone density, and I'd like to keep both.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 23 2018, @07:03PM (3 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 23 2018, @07:03PM (#642558)

        You are not going to lose your boners or bone density in a single month.

        This is what I originally posted: try it for one month. See if the medicine "get you over the hump" of your depression. No one is saying you have to take it for the rest of your life. Just getting out of the depths of depression can be the enabling factor that lets you begin to address your depression possibly in other, non-medical ways.

        I think you are letting the perfect be the enemy of the good.

        • (Score: 3, Informative) by JNCF on Friday February 23 2018, @07:45PM (2 children)

          by JNCF (4317) on Friday February 23 2018, @07:45PM (#642589) Journal

          No, I'm being pedantic. Your quoted statement was simply incorrect, find better wording next time. I recognise that the trade-off/gamble is worth it in some cases, but we can't honestly pretend that you have nothing to lose. Loss of bone density is something that happens on a continuum, and I have no reason to believe that it can't happen at some scale in the first month of use. Loss of boners is sometimes permanent. If you have data showing that no negative side-effects have been demonstrated in the first month of use I'll cede the point, but until then I'll keep being a pedant who understands that negative side-effects of SSRIs are well documented.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 24 2018, @12:42AM (1 child)

            by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 24 2018, @12:42AM (#642773)

            Nobody seems to argue that taking magic mushrooms, just once, might alter one's mind and even be an effective depression treatment for some. This is because of changing the mind, regardless of mechanism. Otherwise nothing would be different after.

            Why then would it be hard to imagine that trying an SSRI *once* might have long-lasting or permanent effects?

            Some people have schizophrenia precipitated by a single cocaine use event.

            Why then should a month's application of strong mental medicine not possibly precipitate an illness?

            GP sounds like the worst of contemporary doctors. "Here, try this, it's got 10% better cure rates on the thing we're discussing than placebo, and we'll see you in two weeks to prescribe drugs for the side-effects."

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 24 2018, @01:45PM

              by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 24 2018, @01:45PM (#643017)

              I assume you don't take *any* medicine then because they all *might* have a side effect.
              Have fun treating yourself with spring water baths and healing crystals.