Dr. John Preston on
Psychopharm in the News
Do Antidepressants Work?
March
2, 2010 - Scientific American
A controversial article published in the
prestigious "Journal of the American Medical Association" concluded
that antidepressants are no more effective than placebos for most
depressed patients.
The researchers aggregated individual patient data from six high-quality clinical trials and found that the superiority of antidepressants over placebo is clinically significant only for patients who are very severely depressed. For patients with mild, moderate, and even severe depression, placebos work nearly as well as antidepressants.
The researchers aggregated individual patient data from six high-quality clinical trials and found that the superiority of antidepressants over placebo is clinically significant only for patients who are very severely depressed. For patients with mild, moderate, and even severe depression, placebos work nearly as well as antidepressants.
Commentary
By
Dr. John Preston