Posted by Bill L on May 8, 2002, at 9:12:11
In reply to Placebos best anti-depressants?, posted by benji on May 7, 2002, at 16:32:13
It's an interesting article. It does say however in the parts I copied below that the brain changes are different with AD's than with placebos. It also says that most docs believe that AD's work independently of the placebo effect.
It's hard to be too much credibility on many of the studies. The recent study that showed Zoloft and SJW to be no more effective than placebo was seriously flawed. The dose of Zoloft was less than the amount normally prescribed. Why would anyone do a study using a dose that is too low???????????? It's amazing. Also, these studies are always either 6 or 8 weeks. Either way, SJW takes longer to get a full effect. I used to take Prozac and it took me 3 months to get a full effect. I now take Celexa. Celexa took about 4 months for a full effect.
"Some observers assert that the medicines themselves work because of the placebo effect, but most psychiatrists believe the drugs do have an effect of their own. Drugs are a "placebo-plus" treatment, said Helen Mayberg, head of neuropsychiatry at the Rotman Research Institute at the University of Toronto.
In a study published last week in the American Journal of Psychiatry, Mayberg evaluated brain changes during trials using a sophisticated brain imaging technique. She found that medicines, besides working on areas that are activated by placebos, also work on areas deep in the brain stem, the hippocampus and striatum.
Since both depression and the effect of the medicines are still not well understood, it's not clear what these changes mean. While they could be irrelevant effects, Mayberg said a better explanation is that the drugs affect areas deep within the brain and then work upward to affect parts of the brain that control mood. Placebos may work in the reverse direction. In part, this may explain why drug effects tend to be more reliable than placebos in the long run."
poster:Bill L
thread:105463
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020503/msgs/105575.html