Wednesday, March 31, 2004

Learning From Prozac: Will New Caution Shift Old Views?
An essay in the New York Times by Tanya Luhrmann,professor at the University of Chicago and the author of Of Two Minds: An Anthropologist Looks at Modern Psychiatry on last week's FDA public health advisory on antidepressants - ".... Yet even if it turns out that the antidepressants do increase suicidal thoughts or actions in some people, that pales as a public health problem beside the challenge of treating depression in the general population. Most people with serious depression — an illness that affects one of 10 Americans at some point — never seek treatment. Antidepressants, whatever their side effects, work for many people and have undoubtedly prevented countless suicides. Still, most experts agree that the drugs do not work well enough. Many people improve but do not recover completely. About a third of depressed patients do not respond to any medication at all. In this sense, the drug agency's action may have salutary consequences. Studies have made it increasingly clear that the best treatment for most psychiatric difficulties is a combination of medication and psychotherapy, or at least continuing contact with a mental health professional..." [Viewing New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].