Questioning Prozac

A new meta-analysis published in PLoS Medicine questions the efficacy of Prozac and similar anti-depressants in treating all but the most serious forms of depression. “Using complete data sets (including unpublished data) and a substantially larger data set of this type than has been previously reported, we find the overall effect of new-generation antidepressant medication is below recommended criteria for clinical significance,” wrote researchers.

The study, entitled “Initial Severity and Antidepressant Benefits: A Meta-Analysis of Data Submitted to the Food and Drug Administration” involved researchers from the UK, US and Canada. “Given these results, there seems little reason to prescribe antidepressant medication to any but the most severely depressed patients, unless alternative treatments have failed,” says Prof Irving Kirsch, the study’s Principle Investigator and Professor of psychology at Hull University. “This study raises serious issues that need to be addressed surrounding drug licensing and how drug trial data is reported.”
Read the article from PLoS Medicine

News article from Guardian Online