Momnesia

Sometimes I Hate Science

A report by Sharon Begley,Posted Monday, February 25, 2008 4:35 PM on Newsweek.com, says that "antidepressants only work on a small number of the most severely depressed patients, and that the majority (80%) of people are helped just as much by a placebo."

The specifics: "There was virtually no difference in the response to drug vs. placebo of patients who suffered moderate levels of depression, and a small difference for patients with very severe depression. Even that small difference was clinically insignificant. That means that the difference was so small that government health authorities do not recognize it as a meaningful improvement: on a standard scale of depression, patients should improve by 3 points, but the spread between placebo and drug was only 1.8."

"The reason for the tiny, or nonexistent, differences? Patients respond so well to placebo—to the mere thought that something might be helping them—that there was little room for an actual drug to do more."

Now, I wonder if they're going to do a study on the people on antidepressants who are MORE SEVERELY DEPRESSED because they read this story and now no longer believe that their antidepressants work? Measure that, smarty pants science reporter lady!