More Data Required

[glitch0]

Does anybody have additional information on this subject?

Study reviews FDA data and challenges the effectiveness of four of the most widely used antidepressant medications.

I did a search for articles that disagree with the study, but (I realize after checking) this study was only published YESTERDAY.

Why wasn't this addressed earlier in the FDA

Comments

[kestrelct]

The only thing that pops out at me is that the third of the medications they mention, nefazodone, is no longer sold in the US (as of 2003 or 4) because of a small chance of "hepatic incidents", which appears to be double-talk for "it could fuck up your liver but good". (I didn't recognize it, so I googled. The other three are Paxil, Prozac, and Effexor, if you don't know way too much about SSRIs recognize the generics.)

These drugs have also been in the news because they appear to contribute to suicidal behavior in teenagers, so they're no longer suggested for people under 18.

I'm not a researcher, but I notice that much of their argument rests on a 20-question self-report survey. Very possibly one of the foremost tools we have for getting at peoples' moods, given how little we understand about mental illness, but not something I'd stake the farm on.

[glitch0]

I wonder why the placebo effectiveness falls off for more severe cases while the drug does not.

Weren't the 20 question surveys also the drug companies' tool for suggesting that the drugs would be effective in the first place? 1.8 points seems like a pretty small deviation.

*grumbles about government agencies that are supposed to base their decisions on scientific evidence*