The antidepressant-debunking study

[substitute]

There was a news release today about a study that appears to show the uselessness of popular antidepressants.

This was reported in the Guardian, among other places. The publication can be read here.

There are problems, as summarized:

1. PlOS is not an academic peer-reviewed journal. edit: They are in fact peer-reviewed, based on better information I have received by comments. Read the threads. They say they are peer-reviewed, but when you read their FAQ, you'll see this: "We involve the academic community in our peer review process as much as possible. After professional staff have determined that the paper falls within the scope of the journal, and is of a minimum acceptable quality, decisions on whether to send a paper out for in-depth review are made via a collaboration between experienced, professional editors who work full time at PLoS, and academic editors who are experts in their field."
   
   I'm not saying this is Wikipedia, but it's not the same thing as a traditional journal, either.
   
   
2. It's one study. Beware of an equivalency between "one metastudy showed that these three or four drugs didn't show a good outcome under these conditions" and "antidepressants don't work."
   
   
3. The study measured outcomes at six weeks. That isn't very long in a depression treatment, whether you're using Prozac or a trampoline.

That having been said, anything that keeps family doctors from throwing the best-advertised drug at every problem is going to be helpful at this juncture. And using any kind of medication (except possibly the trampoline) without counseling is, well, crazy.

Comments

[la-lisa.livejournal.com]

I smell CCHR (Citizen's Committee on Human Rights) at work here, the Scientology fronth group that hates psychiatry. Granted, I do agree with them that too many meds are rx'ed to kids (Ablify for pre-teens, holy mother of god). And I do see a lot of "throw a pill at her" family doctors (like my friend's wife who takes a prozac every three days--not the time release one for PMS either) a sub clinical level and has been doing ttis for 6 years because according to her she is menopausal, wiht no cognitive therapy or anything else--and no suggestion ot lay off the booze and pot either> Idiots.

Anyway this journal looks like a crock, the study is a crock and while I am a firm believer in diet, nutrition and exercise to help the body do its thing, I also think that sometimes the body needs extra help in the form of neuro-supliments like SSRIs etc.

CCHR has managed ot get a few articles placed recently and this just smells like their crap.

Bring on the lithium crystals, Scottie! No wonder Spock was so mellow.

Abilify for kids is BS though. Exercise, no sugar, decent parenting.

[substitute.livejournal.com]

From what springheel_jack said, it looks like this guy is a legit scientist who is just very interested in the placebo effect, and not a CCHR clone.

There are a lot of babies flying around with the bathwater; I'm just going to maintain my course and wait and see.