Posted by law663 on November 25, 2005, at 19:56:45
In reply to Re: Studies on long term use of SSRI's, posted by med_empowered on November 25, 2005, at 17:56:47
Sorry, but I have to disagree. Most of the drug company studies are sponsored by academic medical centers and they publish their results. Are you really saying that the only reasons that people take AD's is that their doctors push them to take them? So, all of the people who claim that AD's have helped them -- they're all brainwashed? The BILLIONS of dollars that people spend are spent on drugs that have no effect? That all of the brain imaging studies, the studies on BDNF, those are all false?
My point is thus: I agree that there are porblems with Phamra sposorsed studies and the lack of long term studies. I also think that psychiatry has ignored the fact that 5HT elevations can have profound endocrine effects that are not fully understood. But, let's not through the baby out with the bathwater. Prozac et al have helped numerous people and these agents have true thereputic, biological effects. To claim otherwise, I think, borders on perposterous.
> The data used to show that antidepressants are no better than placebo has often come from *drug company data* that simply wasn't reported, since federal law does not currently require that the outcome of each and ever clinical trial be presented to the FDA at the time the medication comes up for approval. The fact that "people take them" does *not* mean they are in fact any better than placebos, or that they are superior to other (drug or non-drug treatments). People take them b/c the current paradigm in mental health is the biopsychiatric model. People take them b/c they are prescription drugs that generate billions of dollars for the companies that make them. People take them because sales reps (ex: Merck's "Merckettes") push them...HARD. These drugs have been pushed hard and prescribed like candy--much to the glee of drug companies and well-paid consultants and psychiatrists, much to the disservice of patients and their families, and society at large.
>
> Interesting fact: in studies where ADs come up about as good as placebo, an inactive placebo was used. Imagine the results using an "active" placebo--one that could cause some minor side effects, but nothing too major (and no major psychiatric effects, either). The results, I imagine, would be astounding.
poster:law663
thread:582087
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20051119/msgs/582211.html