Depression is a big worldwide problem, and in USA antidepressants are the third most common prescribed drug. It is a problem that appears to be on the rise. However, a lot about the function of antidepressants and why they seem to be working better in some individuals still remains unknown.
Some data actually suggests that antidepressants works as good as taking a sugar pill. A meta-analysis (2010) were six separate studies were analysed to compare the effectiveness of antidepressants indicated that patients with mild and moderate depression might be treated better with alternatives to antidepressants. Which, according to the researches, does not help much more than an inactive placebo. The two drugs analysed were paroxetine and imipramine. Paraxetine is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor while imipramine is a tricyclic antidepressant drug. While a placebo usually is described as inactive and …show more content…
Subjects experiencing adverse effects guessed that they were given the real drug and therefore have a higher placebo effect than those given placebo since they “know” that they have been given the drug. Patients given antidepressants are also more likely to become depressed again after treatment compared with other treatments such as placebo Andrews et al., 2012; Babyak et al., 2000; Dobson et al., 2008. One possibility is therefore to prescribe placebos since they are almost as effective as antidepressants, but with fewer side-effects. Studies indicate that some doctors actually do prescribe placebos Raz et al., 2011; Tilburt, Emanuel, Kaptchuk, Curlin, & Miller, 2008. This is however a question of ethics. it has however been shown that even placebos given openly with an argument that they should be effective might actually work Kaptchuk et al.,
Some data actually suggests that antidepressants works as good as taking a sugar pill. A meta-analysis (2010) were six separate studies were analysed to compare the effectiveness of antidepressants indicated that patients with mild and moderate depression might be treated better with alternatives to antidepressants. Which, according to the researches, does not help much more than an inactive placebo. The two drugs analysed were paroxetine and imipramine. Paraxetine is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor while imipramine is a tricyclic antidepressant drug. While a placebo usually is described as inactive and …show more content…
Subjects experiencing adverse effects guessed that they were given the real drug and therefore have a higher placebo effect than those given placebo since they “know” that they have been given the drug. Patients given antidepressants are also more likely to become depressed again after treatment compared with other treatments such as placebo Andrews et al., 2012; Babyak et al., 2000; Dobson et al., 2008. One possibility is therefore to prescribe placebos since they are almost as effective as antidepressants, but with fewer side-effects. Studies indicate that some doctors actually do prescribe placebos Raz et al., 2011; Tilburt, Emanuel, Kaptchuk, Curlin, & Miller, 2008. This is however a question of ethics. it has however been shown that even placebos given openly with an argument that they should be effective might actually work Kaptchuk et al.,