| SSRI_Not_for_babies@nospam.org 2005-04-27, 5:54 pm |
| Therapy offers antidepressant alternative
A study in the Archives of General Psychiatry indicates that cognitive therapy
can be as effective as antidepressants in the initial treatment of mild to
severe major depression. Over a 16-week period, subjects received cognitive
therapy, antidepressants or a placebo. At the end of 16 weeks, response rates
were 58% for both the antidepressant and cognitive therapy groups. "On the whole
our findings do not support the American psychiatric guidelines that most
moderately and severely depressed patients will require medication," the
researchers say.
Light treatment for depression
The latest Journal of American Psychiatry reports on the efficacy of light
therapy in the treatment of depression. An analysis of 20 studies from around
the world shows light therapy effectively treats mood disorders, including
seasonal affective disorder, and is at least as effective as antidepressants for
these disorders.
Antidepressants increase risk of heart attack
In the past there has been conflicting evidence relating to the effect of
antidepressant therapy on cardiovascular disease. A large UK study has found the
use of SSRI antidepressants appears to have a short-term increased risk of
having a first heart attack. In the first seven days of use, the risk of a heart
attack increased up to 159%, depending on which SSRI drug was used. The
increased risk did not persist after 28 days, however. The researchers suggest,
given the increased risk was not associated with one particular drug, "the
association is unlikely to be a causal drug effect and may be due to underlying
depression."
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