Hi There.

As you may know by now, this blog, my research and my book, talks about treating depression in a new way. A way that is individualized and seeks to find the physical or biochemical cause for the depression and treat it naturally.

I’m not against antidepressant medication- I know that for some people it is a life saver. What I disagree with is that most people do not have the physical causes for their depression investigated, before they are offered antidepressants. I personally think that when there are no immediate risks involved for the person in question, hormonal imbalances, nutrient deficiencies, food allergies and exposure to toxins should be investigated.

The Latest Research on Antidepressants

So today I thought I’d share a scientific study that was released a couple of months ago basically saying that ‘the current care for depression (antidepressants and cognitive therapy) needs to be reassessed’. The common belief that antidepressants and cognitive therapy are effective, may not be as true as most people (both public and physicians) think.

The abstract for this study is below, and is pretty technical- but the take home message is- “Antidepressant meds are only marginally more effective than placebo”.

If antidepressant medications aren’t effective, what do we do?

If you’re wondering what other options you’ve got to antidepressants, (or that you can use in combination with antidepressants), you’re in the right place. I’ve found out that there are over 20 different ways to treat depression effectively- the key is to find out what is causing the depression in the first place. If you want to find out more about it I’ve written a free report just for you. I know that you’ll find it interesting and most importantly helpful for finding healing for you.

All the best.

Dr Janelle Sinclair

Here’s the abstract from this scientific report:

Efficacy and effectiveness of antidepressants: current status of research. Psychother Psychosom. 2010;79(5):267-79.

Authors: Pigott HE, Leventhal AM, Alter GS, Boren JJ.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: This paper examines the current status of research on the efficacy and effectiveness of antidepressants.

METHODS: This paper reviews four meta-analyses of efficacy trials submitted to America’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and analyzes STAR*D (Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression), the largest antidepressant effectiveness trial ever conducted.

RESULTS: Meta-analyses of FDA trials suggest that antidepressants are only marginally efficacious compared to placebos and document profound publication bias that inflates their apparent efficacy. These meta-analyses also document a second form of bias in which researchers fail to report the negative results for the pre-specified primary outcome measure submitted to the FDA, while highlighting in published studies positive results from a secondary or even a new measure as though it was their primary measure of interest. The STAR*D analysis found that the effectiveness of antidepressant therapies was probably even lower than the modest one reported by the study authors with an apparent progressively increasing dropout rate across each study phase.

CONCLUSIONS: The reviewed findings argue for a reappraisal of the current recommended standard of care of depression.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20616621 (here’s the original research- the complete article is available at that link too).