MORE DEPRESSING NEWS

After using the Freedom of Information Act to obtain the full test results of antidepressant drugs, scientists have published a report claiming that Prozac and similar drugs do not work any better than placebos. The study examined all available data including clinical tests which manufacturers such as GlaxoSmithKline and Eli Lilly originally chose not to publish. Overall, all except the most severely depressed patients improved equally whether given a prescription drug or a sugar pill. "Given these results, there seems little reason to prescribe antidepressant medication to any but the most severely depressed patients, unless alternative treatments have failed," said the report’s lead researcher, professor Irving Kirsch of the department of psychology at Hull University. The results were the same for all of the antidepressants for which they were able to obtain unpublished test results, including Prozac, Seroxat, Effexor and Serzone. (The Guardian)