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Antidepressants in suicide prevention
2008-08-29 18:03:00 Antidepressants are the cornerstone of treatment of depressive disorders in health care. Their efficacy in treating depression is undisputable, although it leaves room for improvement. However, recent reports also suggest that antidepressants might, in some rare cases, actually worsen suicidal tendencies instead of alleviating them. As a consequence, research has intensified to clarify this issue, and regulatory authorities in many countries have reconsidered their cost-benefit ratio. While there is no doubt that such potential side-effects of antidepressant therapy are a very serious issue, it is important to obtain a balanced view of all the clinical and epidemiological facts pertaining the effect of antidepressant therapy in relation to suicidal behaviour. Depression and risk of suicidal behaviour Suicide is a significant public health issue. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that annually about one million people worldwide complete suicide. Thus, worldwide signif...
No Link Between Antidepressants And Birth Defects
2008-05-26 02:05:00 Good news for expectant mothers. According to a new study from the Université de Montréal and Ste. Justine Hospital published in the May edition of the British Journal of Psychiatry, expectant mothers can safely use prescribed antidepressants during their first trimester based upon a study on 2,329 new mothers. The research team used data from the Quebec Pregnancy Registry, established by their group at least 30 days before pregnancy. Also included in the registry were women who delivered liveborn and stillborn children, while birth defects were considered anything from facial malformations to heart anomalies. Dr. Anick Bérard and her team found that antidepressants have no effect on foetal development where they found no difference between mother who used antidepressan and those that did. (more…) Share This
[Obvious] Study says antidepressants are okay for fetuses. Because sometime
2008-05-24 16:33:00 (WMTW.com)
How is Fibromyalgia Treated?: Antidepressants, pain management, sleep manag
2008-05-18 03:38:00 Depression, chronic pain and fibomyalgia are often associated, It is hard to identify which come first. Some people are depressed because they are in chronic pain. Chronic pain is a co-morbidity of depression.One of the most important factors in improving the symptoms of Fibromyalgia(FM) is for the patient to recognize the need for lifestyle adaptation. Most people are resistant to change because it implies adjustment, discomfort and effort. However, in the case of FM, change can bring about recognizable improvement in function and quality of life. Becoming educated about FM gives the patient more potential for improvement.Fibromyalgia Treatments Conventional medical intervention may be only part of a potential treatment program. Alternative treatments, nutrition, relaxation techniques, and exercise play an important role in FM treatment as well. Each patient should, with the input of a healthcare practitioner, establish a multifaceted and individualized approach that works for t...
Antidepressants for the Treatment of Binge Eating
2008-04-26 07:00:00 Binge eating is considered an eating disorder when you can’t stop yourself from eating a large amount of food in a short amount of time, even when you aren’t hungry. Most people who have this problem feel very unhappy with themselves after a binging episode, and many binge eaters also suffer from depression. Compulsive overeating is usually considered a psychological problem, so it’s fairly common for antidepressants to be prescribed. This eating disorder is thought to be caused by a combination of genetics, social and family interaction and psychological factors. Oddly enough, nutrition and diet is not usually considered when binge eating is being treated, but perhaps it should be. Here’s why: A number of chronic illnesses are clustered together under the term “metabolic syndrome”, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and depression. According to a scholarly paper published in the Septemb...
Antidepressants
2008-04-12 07:24:00 The most important category of antidepressants present in the market is ?serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)?. This includes: - 1.) citalopram (Celexa) 2.) escitalopram (Lexapro) 3.) Fluoxetine (Prozac) 4.) fluvoxamine (Luvox) 5.) paroxetine (Paxil) 6.) sertraline (Zoloft) The main cases where these SSRIs are used: - 1.) Control the depression and anxiety disorders. 2.) Helpful in controlling psychiatric disorders. 3.) bulimia nervosa 4.) migraine headache 5.) borderline personality disorder 6.) obesity 7.) rheumatic pain Prozac (Fluoxetine) is the first drug which was launched ...
By: Diseases blog
Appeals court favors pre-emption defense in antidepressants case
2008-04-11 19:42:00 Ben ComerAn appellate court has upheld a decision protecting pharmaceutical companies from a product liability lawsuit over warning labels.The ruling immunized Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline from claims that pre-existing drug warning labels had not sufficiently articulated safety risks on Pfizer's Zoloft and a generic version of Paxil, made by Apotex. Families representing two patients who committed suicide after taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) were told that FDA personnel are responsible for the accuracy and approval of drug labels, not state courts.The 2-1 ruling demonstrates the concept of “pre-emption,” or federal regulatory law superseding state-law tort actions. The decision stopped short of deciding “whether pre-emption would be appropriate under different facts” or “whether the FDA's mere approval of drug labeling is sufficient to pre-empt state-law claims,” according to a majority opinion written by circuit judge Dolores Sloviter. “Our hol...
Antidepressants no better than placebos: study
2008-02-27 16:58:00 Updated Tue. Feb. 26 2008 1:39 PM ETCTV.ca News StaffAntidepressant medications appear to help only severely depressed people, a new analysis has found. For most patients, the medications work no better than placebos, the study found.Researchers led by Irving Kirsch of the University of Hull in Britain reviewed 47 studies, both published and unpublished, on four antidepressants from a class of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs: * Prozac, (also known as fluoxetine) * Paxil (also called Seroxat or paroxetine) * Effexor (also called venlafaxine or Novo-Venlafaxine) * Serzone (also called nefazodone; no longer available in Canada but is available in the U.K.) The researchers wanted to know whether a patient's response to the antidepressant depended on how badly depressed they were to start out with.They conducted a meta-analysis, putting together all data from trials submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on the drugs - relying on U....
Discontining antidepressants can be dangerous to yourself and others as dem
2008-02-19 23:40:00 Psychiatric experts have renewed their warnings about the dangers of denial of a mental illness and suddenly discontinuing antidepressants. This topic was revisited with the recent shootings at Northern llinois University. Explanation, Motives Sought for Recent College ShootingsSteven Kazmierczak, who shot and killed five students at Northern Illinois University last week, apparently resisted the idea of having a mental illness. "He never wanted to identify with being mentally ill," his mother said. "That was part of the problem." His parents had placed him in a residential treatment center after he graduated from high school because he had become "unruly" at home and had resisted taking his medications. He had stopped taking his medications two weeks before the shootings.
F.D.A. Expands Suicide Warning on Drugs and Antidepressants
2008-02-06 02:48:00 The Food and Drug Administration ordered drug makers yesterday to add warnings to antidepressant medications, saying the drugs increase the risk of suicidal thinking or behavior in some young adults. The drug labels, which have included similar warnings for adolescents and children since 2005, will now apply to people younger than 25. The expanded warnings, which will appear in a black box displayed prominently on the prescribing information, are the strongest caution that regulators can impose.The drug agency also recommended that the labels remind doctors to balance this risk against the “clinical need” for treatment and to mention that the drugs, which include well-known products like Paxil and Zoloft, are associated with no increased suicide risk in patients older than 25 and appear to reduce the risk in those older than 64. About 11 percent of adults younger than 44, or 12 million Americans, received at least one prescription for an antidepressant last year, say estim...
Six different prescribed antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, sleepin
2008-01-24 05:27:00 I am so very saddened by the death of Heath Ledger. I am particularly upset that he lived the last months of his life unhappy, anxious, exhausted and depressed. According to New York City Police: Six different types of prescription drugs were found in Heath Ledger's apartment — including anti-anxiety medications and sleeping pills — though the cause of his death won't be known for several days after a preliminary autopsy Wednesday came back inconclusive, authorities said.The Australian-born actor was found dead Tuesday by his housekeeper and a massage therapist — lying naked and face-down on his bed, police said. The pills were found in bottles in Ledger's bedroom and bathroom, and police said the death was caused by a possible drug overdose and appeared to be accidental.Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office, said that the autopsy on the 28-year-old actor was inconclusive and that more would be known in about 10 days, when more tests w...
No clear proof that antidepressants alleviate low back pain
2008-01-23 11:16:00 They are commonly prescribed for low back pain, but a new review by Cochrane researchers has found no clear evidence that antidepressants work on this chronic pain. The drugs are usually prescribed for three main reasons - to relieve pain; reduce mild depression and improve a person’s mood; and improve sleep. However, lead author Dr Donna Urquhart who works in the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, says that a review of 10 trials found no evidence that antidepressants assist in the management of chronic low back pain. “We found no clear evidence to support the clinician’s prescription of antidepressants in reducing pain and depression for patients with chronic low back pain,” she said. However, the researchers added that the finding does not mean that patients with significant depression should avoid antidepressants, as they play an important role in the treatment of clini...
By: B4U India
Pharma's fancy foot work; data on antidepressants often shelved
2008-01-18 00:43:00 Nearly a third of antidepressant drug studies are never published in the medical literature and nearly all happen to show that the drug being tested did not work, researchers reported today. Researchers accuse drugmakers of displaying a bias in how they report the results of drug trials involving popular antidepressants like Prozac. In some of the studies that are published, unfavorable results have been recast to make the medicine appear more effective than it really is, said the research team led by Erick Turner of the Oregon Health & Science University.Even if not deliberate, this can be bad news for patients, they wrote in their report, published in the New England Journal of Medicine."Selective publication can lead doctors to make inappropriate prescribing decisions that may not be in the best interest of their patients and, thus, the public health," they wrote.The idea that unfavorable test results are quietly tucked away so nobody will see them -- sometimes call the "f...
Antidepressants Get FDA Warning
2008-01-17 13:00:00 Committee members said they were particularly worried about doctors who aren't completely familiar with antidepressants prescribing them to children.
Antidepressants Under Scrutiny: Sweeping Overview Suggests Suppression of N
2008-01-17 05:13:00 Today's Wall Street Journal published a very controversial story about the effectiveness of antidepressants:The effectiveness of 12 popular antidepressants has been exaggerated by manufacturers' selective publication of favorable results, researchers asserted in a new review of unpublished data that were submitted to the Food and Drug Administration. As a result, the review concludes, doctors and patients are getting a distorted view of the effectiveness of blockbuster antidepressants like Wyeth's Effexor and Pfizer Inc.'s Zoloft. The review was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.Dr. Turner, who once worked at the FDA reviewing data on psychotropic drugs, said the idea for the study was triggered in part by colleagues who questioned the need for further clinical drug trials looking at the effectiveness of antidepressants. "There is a view that these drugs are effective all the time," he said. "I would say they only work 40% to 50% of the time," based on his r...
Depression, antidepressants and unwanted weight gain can result in Type 2 d
2008-01-02 04:39:00 Depression sufferers are at twice the risk of developing Type II diabetes than the general population. Diabetes continues to grow as one of the nation's most alarming chronic diseases. One out of every 15 Americans live with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Many lifestyle factors contribute to the risk of diabetes, including obesity's significance in the rise of type 2 diabetes. And the repercussions are severe: peripheral neuropathy (pain and numbness in the hands and feet), foot deformities and, finally, amputation. With the prevalence of an obesity epidemic in the U.S., type 2 diabetes is on an exponential rise, with children and young teens also being diagnosed. In type 2 diabetes, the pancreas supplies too little insulin to keep up with the increased demand. Most often, patients are treated with a combination of diet and exercise with medication to increase and moderate insulin supply. Quiz: Are You Putting Yourself At Risk?To prevent those kinds of consequences , people who ar...
Rosie Hoses Herself?
2007-11-08 14:34:00 Rosie blew the MSNBC deal with by opening her massive yaw. The unstable, delusional, self-sabotaging flamethrower takes the hit for queering the deal. "Everything happens for a reason" she rationalizes on her blog. Rosie's a serial prevaricator and full of shit. Again. The deal blew apart over money and contract length. Roger Friedmann Fox News The girl guarantees ratings but the package is packed with a ton of crazy bitch garbage. Too bad Rosie quit "The View" before Los Angeles mag came out with this "Recipe For Disaster." "View" Souffle with Winter Vegetables. Take 1 liberal with dreadlocks, 1 conservative blond, 2 grating whiners, 1 dead horse, 6-8 baby turnips." Then, "melt whiners in skillet. Add dreadlocks, rosary beads from blond, and turnips. Beat dead horse with mallet until 11 a.m. Serves: 5 egos." The recipe is in LA mag's November 2007 "Food Issue." NY Post Page Six. I'd call it "Dim Sum."
By: Chickaboomer
Antidepressants
2007-10-29 14:37:00 Alternative applications of “antidepressants” Although the evidence of efficacy of antidepressants, as a class, is not as convincing as for other types of drugs, there is growing clinical and research evidence to support a widening range of potential indications of these drugs. The partial success of the SSRIs as a group in ameliorating OCD is encouraging, as ...
Dosing of antidepressants. Treatment-resistance
2007-10-29 14:31:00 Treatment-resistance The problem of apparent “treatment-resistanceR-21; in depression requires further study, but many cases respond when a patient actually is willing to follow a previously recommended treatment, or high doses are accepted and pursued for at least 6-8 weeks. Some cases may represent destabilizing effects of overly aggressive antidepressant treatment of patients with overlooked bipolarity, but ...
Clinical Pharmacology of Antidepressants
2007-10-29 14:28:00 Antidepressants Types of antidepressants Antidepressants currently fall into five major categories: [1] tertiary amine tricyclics (amitriptyline, clomipramine, doxepin, imipramine, trimipramine), secondary amine tricyclics (amoxapine, desipramine, maprotiline, nortriptyline, protriptyline); [2] monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors (phenelzine, tranylcypromine, selegiline [(-)-deprenyl], and experimental short-acting MAO-A inhibitors (eg,, moclobemide [Manerex], marketed in Canada); [3] serotonin-reuptake inhibitors: (SSRIs) clomipramine, citalopram, []-fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, sertraline, ...
Antidepressants Emerge as Coolant for Hot Flashes
2007-10-18 21:05:00 Antidepressants Emerge as Coolant for Hot FlashesMenopause researchers say antidepressant use is becoming increasingly common as both women and doctors seek alternatives to menopause hormones. ...
The laughter doctored a low without antidepressants
2007-10-04 12:44:00 Therapy with laughter has arisen in USA and now precipitately develops in Europe as well. Three major directions can protest in her: the premier is being called Classic Therapy with laughter: on individual and group interests ridiculous stories, anecdotes, are being told in this numeral from their own life. The surveys, prosecuted in USA show ...
By: Healthy Temple
Rimonabant (Acomplia) Must Not Be Used In Patients On Antidepressants Or Wi
2007-09-16 01:54:00 The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) recommended contraindicating Acomplia (rimonabant) from sanofi-aventis, in patients with ongoing major depression or who are being treated with antidepressants, because of the risk of psychiatric side effects. Doctors in the EU have already been warned about this since ...
Depression, side effects of antidepressants; substantial weight gain and in
2007-08-20 04:38:00 Type 2 Diabetes Overview Type 2 Diabetes is often called non-insulin dependent diabetes. This is the most common form of diabetes and it affects 90% - 95% of the 21 million people who have diabetes. Depression and Type 2 diabetes are often co-morbid diseases. One of the side effects of antidepressant is medications is unwanted and substantial weight gain. This article will talk about the symptoms and causes of Type 2 Diabetes – and also give you timely information on serious diabetes complications that can arise when blood sugar levels are not managed for a period of time. What Is Type 2 Diabetes? Unlike people with Type 1 Diabetes, a person with Type 2 Diabetes produce insulin; however, the insulin the pancreas secretes is either not enough or the body is unable to recognize the insulin and use it properly. This is called insulin-resistance. When there isn't enough insulin or the insulin is not used as it should be, glucose (sugar) can't get into the body's cells. When gl...
FDA: 30 Percent of U.S. Patients on Diet Drugs Also Take Antidepressants
2007-08-17 17:39:00 While Sanofi-Aventis says patients on antidepressants should not take diet-drug rimonabant (Acomplia / Zimulti), the FDA says data it obtained for 2004-2006 showed that 30 percent of the 580,000 patients prescribed diet pills each year received a concurrent prescription for an antidepressant drug. The fact that many people who purchase prescription diet drugs appear to also ...
Acomplia at the same time with antidepressants -Not indicated
2007-08-09 16:43:00 Approximately one person in 10 taking diet drug Acomplia (rimonabant) experiences psychiatric side effects and about one person in 100 experiences suicidal thoughts, according to U.K. regulators. Of some 41,000 patients treated with rimonabant since it was launched in the U.K. in June 2006, 364 “psychiatric reactions have been reported,” the Department of Health’s Medicines and ...
Faster-acting antidepressants closer to becoming a reality
2007-07-24 19:13:00 A new study has revealed more about how the medication ketamine, when used experimentally for depression, relieves symptoms of the disorder in hours instead of the weeks or months it takes for current antidepressants to work. While ketamine itself probably won?t come into use as an antidepressant because of its side effects, the new finding ...
Boom time for antidepressants!
2007-07-12 00:00:00 More often prescribed than drugs to treat high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma, or headaches? With latest figures showing that antidepressants have become the most commonly prescribed drugs in the United States, has depression become more prevailent or are doctors medicating unhappiness? Common symptions of depression include: Persistent sad, anxious, or “empty” mood ...
The most prescribed drugs in the United States are antidepressants accordin
2007-07-11 12:35:00 According to a government study, antidepressants have become the most commonly prescribed drugs in the United States. They're prescribed more than drugs to treat high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma, or headaches. In its study, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked at 2.4 billion drugs prescribed in visits to doctors and hospitals in 2005. Of those, 118 million were for antidepressants. High blood pressure drugs were the next most-common with 113 million prescriptionsThe use of antidepressants and other psychotropic drugs -- those that affect brain chemistry -- has skyrocketed over the last decade. Adult use of antidepressants almost tripled between the periods 1988-1994 and 1999-2000. Between 1995 and 2002, the most recent year for which statistics are available, the use of these drugs rose 48 percent, the CDC reported. Of 2.4 billion prescriptions in 2005, 118 million were for antidepressants. Many psychiatrists see this statistic sign that final...
Mothers? Antidepressants May Lead to Abnormalities in Newborn
2007-07-10 08:30:00 A newborn?s risk of exhibiting drug withdrawal symptoms and respiratory abnormalities appears to increase with prenatal exposure to certain antidepressants, according to two new studies. Before prescribing this type of medication to pregnant women, the doctors are urged by researchers to carefully consider these findings. The risk of a respiratory disorder in ...
Selection of Antidepressants: Wellbutrin — bupropion [The Corpus Call
2007-07-03 15:41:00 This is another post in a series detailing the selection of antidepressant medication. Use the “Antidepressants” link in the “Categories” part of the sidebar to find the other posts in the series. In this post, I am sort of assuming that the reader has read the previous posts, or has an adequate fund of general knowledge on the subject. Bupropion is not a member of a family. Most antidepressants can be placed in a family of drugs that share similar properties, but there is no other drug like it, as of the time of this writing. It is sometimes referred to as a norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor (NDRI) but in my mind it does not make sense to give it a class name if there is only one member of the class. (It is rumored that an active metabolite, hydroxybupropion, may be marketed eventually, but development is on hold at the present time.) Bupropion, then, is unique. For that reason, it deserves particular attention… Read ...
Antidepressants, a Canary in the Coal Mine
2007-06-29 00:39:00 Antidepressants, one of my favorite topics, are once again in the news. I"ve already explored the connection between antidepressants and a number of personality disorders, but the new studies take us in an entirely different direction and only add fuel to the fire.Two studies released today indicate that Infants born to women taking prescription antidepressants during the first trimester of their pregnancies have an increased risk of serious birth defects. At first glance, the results seem chilling. For example:
Antidepressants and birth defects: new New England Journal of Medicine stud
2007-06-28 22:04:00 I receive quite a few e-mails from women who are concerned about taking antidepressants while pregnant. Many of these women who suffer from depression worry about having to discontinue antidepressants while pregnant and fear postpartum depression. About 10 percent of pregnant women suffer from depression, according to the March of Dimes. The CDC says every pregnancy has a 3 percent risk of a major birth defect, regardless of exposures. I wanted to share the results of a new study published today in The New England Journal of Medicine. The study concluded:Newer antidepressant drugs may increase the risk of birth defects but the risk remains very remote. The drugs, known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs, may cause a very small increase in the number of heart defects, but even this is unclear.According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC), "researchers, did, however, find associations between SSRI use and three specific birth defect...
Antidepressants to Carry New Warning
2007-05-16 09:23:00 An antidepressant, in the most common usage, is a psychiatric medication taken to alleviate clinical depression or dysthymia (’milder’ depression). Several groups of drugs are particularly associated with the term, notably MAOIs and tricyclics (whose serendipitous discovery and psychiatric use dates from the 1950s) as well as SSRIs and more recent ...
By: Depression Help
Antidepressants: Good and Bad
2007-05-14 21:22:00 As expected, a number of people wrote in to comment on the newsletter I wrote recently on antidepressants. Unlike the last time, however, most of the comments were supportive. In particular, I received a number from readers in Europe who told me that what I advocated (using antidepressants as the final option, not the first) was already the rule of thumb on the Continent.
Antidepressants Linked to Increased Bone Fracture Risk
2007-05-12 09:07:00 An antidepressant, in the most common usage, is a psychiatric medication taken to alleviate clinical depression or dysthymia (’milder’ depression). Several groups of drugs are particularly associated with the term, notably MAOIs and tricyclics (whose serendipitous discovery and psychiatric use dates from the 1950s) as well as SSRIs and more recent ...
Antidepressants not dangerous for children, claims research
2007-05-09 09:37:00 Whenever there is a dilemma about a fact, we, the medical science people conduct a research, and that helps in a way to understand the trends and the curves that a particular dilemma can take. Recently there has been a volunteered debate on the effects of the so called antidepressants on the children. There ...
Antidepressants linked to suicide risk in young adults
2007-05-06 12:56:00 May 2nd - Food and Drug Administration , otherwise known as FDA proposed that the antidepressant manufacturers shall include a warning of increased risk of suicidal thinking and behavior in young adults aged 18 to 24 during initial treatment on the existing black box of their products labeling. FDA proposal is based on their internal committee's finding on 77,000 adult patients with major depressive disorders.
Risks and Antidepressants
2007-05-04 06:00:00 The FDA has just announced that it is seeking an update to the warning labels required on antidepressants, advising consumers that the drug may increase the risk of suicide slightly for those under the age 25. Its a difficult situation, as the increase in suicidal thoughts and behavior is considered strong enough to require warning, but is still a very small risk in terms of overall population: It's a "quite small" risk, says Thomas Laughren, MD, director of the FDA's Division of Psychiatry Products. "If you look at 1,000 patients treated, for those under 18 we expect to see 14 cases with increased suicidal thinking and behavior linked to taking these drugs," Laughren said in a news conference. "In young adults aged 18 to 24, you'd see five additional cases of suicidality out of 1,000 people." There is no evidence that the drugs raise suicide risk in people over age 25, the FDA says. Instead, Laughren says antidepressants appear to decrease suicidality in older adult...
Bristol Acupuncture Clinic Replaces Antidepressants With Acupuncture
2007-04-18 03:00:00 Acupuncture is an ancient practice which has helped to ease many human ailments from internal digestion problems to the easing of aches and pains. It has also helped many people with various psychological problems and addictions. The treatment of anxiety and depression is an area in which The Oriental Medicine Practice’s Bristol Acupuncture Clinic have ...
Antidepressants - Take it or Leave it
2007-04-04 06:21:00 Nowadays, most people when depressed take over the counter antidepressants. Media is one f the factor why these medicines become so popular. They advertise about the benefits of antidepressants here and there. But did you know that antidepressants are not necessary and that they have no significant benefits to your health?Surveys have been made in America about early 90’s where the participants are those people that are having mood problems. 25% of the patients were incorrectly diagnosed with depression. This is because those people are only reacting to those normal stressful events like death of a family member, losing a job, and relationship breakups. These events are normal and just part of our lives; we get really depressed by these events so there’s no use of taking antidepressants. It is also advised that only those people who are diagnosed to have clinical depression should take the antidepressants.Here are some general side effects of taking antidepressants:AnxietyWeight..-.
Antidepressants and Suicide
2007-01-20 19:03:00 Anyone taking or contemplating anti-depressants for treatment of depression have been concerned about the blackbox warnings from the FDA. The FDA has issued blanket warnings to anyone considering or taking anti-depressants that they may actually induce suicidal thinking. The truth is that there is still very little and conflicting information about the risks. Highlighting the risks in the way the FDA did by issuing a blackbox warning has been controversial. The problem is that the risks have been assessed in only a few studies and it is not clear what is happening. The other problem is that anti-depressants also treat and prevent suicidal behavior. Not taking an anti-depressant when you need one can also be a grave risk. There is concern within the psychiatric and advocate community that the FDA is driven more by politics than science these days. A coalition of psychiatry and advocate organizations has issued an open letter to the FDA pointing to the life and death consequences o...
By: Dare To Dream
Antidepressants on top of mood stabilizers not helpful in most people with
1970-01-01 00:59:00 Giving patients with bipolar disorder antidepressants on top of their mood stabilizer medications does not relieve their depression any better than an inactive pill called a placebo, said researchers who reported on this large, multi-center study that appears online today in the New England Journal of Medicine. ?If you are on mood stabilizer treatment, which is the best first-line treatment for most people with bipolar disorder, adding an antidepressant usually does not help you out of your depression,? said Dr. Lauren Marangell, the Brown Foundation Chair of the Psychopharmacology of Mood Disorders in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine and one of the lead investigators in the study. ?As first line treatment for depression in bipolar disorder, we do not recommend antidepressants.?
Economic Status Influences Efficacy of Antidepressants
1970-01-01 00:59:00 New research suggests African-Americans and Latinos may require an accentuated treatment regimen for depression than what is effective for whites. Drawing from data in the nation?s largest real-world study of treatment-resistant depression, scientists report the study reveals that the lower response rates may stem from differences in socioeconomic background ? rather than race or ethnicity per se. The study, by researchers at Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed) is reported in November?s Medical Care journal.
Continuation Treatment With Antidepressants in Child and Adolescent Major D
1970-01-01 00:59:00 For the past two decades, psychiatrists treating children and adolescents who have major depressive disorder have had difficulty finding evidence to support their clinical decisions. Time after time, randomized clinical trials have supported neither psychiatrists? clinical experience nor extrapolation from studies of adults. Tricyclic antidepressants were considerably more lethal in overdose in youths than in adults, and moreover, research found no evidence for efficacy of tricyclics in the treatment of depression in youths (1). The first published controlled trial of fluoxetine for the treatment of major depression in youths showed efficacy (2), and studies of fluoxetine in pediatric depression published since then have produced largely similar results. Other, newer antidepressants have at most a single controlled trial showing efficacy in the treatment of major depression in youths, and thus far studies of several antidepressants have not shown statistical superiority to placebo i... |
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