Sue Bergeson
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Last month, I got a call from the Associated Press (AP) asking for comments about a study on SSRIs that had just been released in the New England Journal of Medicine. In short, the study focused on clinical trials involving more than 12,000 consumers and 12 different SSRIs....
tabby
Saturday, February 09, 2008 at 08:11 AM
My personal opinion
There will be no large monetary donation to mental health research while mental health is such a stigmatized issue. It is, in my opinion, not necessarily profitable only because in order to cure the other medical diseases and disorders - the mind needs to be "fixed".
In that the brain controls the function of every organ (including skin tissue) and it regulates every system in the human body, you'd really think that they'd look at funding research to "fix" or cure that which is impeding the functioning and regulation. However, researchers and pharmaceutical companies aren't interested because if you take the impediment out then, there would be no more money needed for the rest of the "package".
Pharmecutical companies are looking for quick profit and quick fixes. To throw out pill after pill supposedly to "help" depression, add/adhd, bipolar, and schizophrenia without actually "healing" it, they can grind out the profit machine for the millions that take the meds hoping for a cure.
Or, perhaps they are just scared to bejeezes because the smartest brains in research do not really have a clue how the actual mind works. You know, "don't want to go there cause I'm not sure what it looks like."
I mean seriously, it's all in our "heads".
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Erica Pereira
Wednesday, February 13, 2008 at 03:13 AM
I am sadly not surprised by this "news". I know enough about Pharmaceutical companies (from a 18 month stint of working for a wall street law firm who defended them, and also at a "Plaintiff" class action firm -- who sues the same ) that I've pretty much assumed this, really known it in a sense.
For one this there the simple fact that there is no body of research comparing SSRIs with the older antidepressants is ridiculous and God knows, they HAD to have done it, because if studies showed SSRIs proved them to be MORE effective there would be a ton of studies. But there's basically nothing. Do a search. But of course the older drugs were cheaper, because they no longer had patent protection. Do you remember how expensive Paxil was before there was a generic? Insane.
Why? Because there hardly any independent research done any longer (in the U.S.). Clinical research trials are very expensive, meaning ones that would prove SSRIs did not work as well as other published studies, or compared them to other classes of antidepressants, in controlled double-blind studies. There was no who had a stake in trying to prove this that would have a the clout or the money. Research is funded by the drug companies that make the drug, though its technically done by academics affiliated with a Univertsity of course.
Secondly, most psychiatrists believe studies like anyone else. They are neither pharmocologists nor do they understand the nature of research sufficently to be critical of it, much complicated research methodology and how studies can be manipulated; they wouldn't even notice if the holes were staring them in the face, as is the case for many pro-SSRI research trials.
The only thing I would be curious about is how many of these trials were done prior to FDA approval. Because those trials a) legally must be released to FDA and b) the FDA approval application process SHOULD be avaliable to the public, but I don't know if it is.
Personally, I was never able to take SSRIs. I took 4 (because I include effexor, based on the fact that it primarily IS an SSRI, and while its effect on Noradenaline much less significant.) It actually quite well known outside the U.S. MAO I inhibitors are by far the best antidepressants for most people with so-called "treatment-resistant" depression, with in the end pretty much means major depressive disorder, and also for bipolar disorder, where an antidepressant is necessary, because it is very good at controlling anxiety. Beck who wrote the all-famous self help book (can't remember the name of it, but is has "Mood" in the title), and was one of the first to champion cognitive therapy says this very thing in that book (re MDD).
In the U.S. they have been painted is inordinately dangerous, considering how dangerous untreated depression is. It is simple case of not eating a few things; honestly the reason the U.S. has this reaction is because it has private healthcare, and doctors who answer to private insurers, (paying ridiculous rates for malpractice insurance) and are more concerned about getting sued than treating patients. They used quite a lot in Europe and by more expert and/or old school psychiatrists in Canada. Anyway, sorry if I ranted. I hope this was helpful. You can contact me if you have any questions about specific source material I might be able to provide, or psychiatrists, pharmacologists, people who do reasearch you could speak to general things I have said.
Erica Pereira
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Erica Pereira
Wednesday, February 13, 2008 at 03:31 AM
I apologize for not proofing my post before I posted it. When I wrote it, I was really writing more as a reply to Sue Bergoson, since nothing had been posted, and by the end thought I was emailing her. (I've this site before and I didn't think I could post without registering.)
I was doing too much thinking while I was writing. Typical. I hope it can still be understood!!
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Anonymous
Sunday, February 24, 2008 at 12:11 AM
Well I agreee that the drug companies do play a large role in funding research and that it is often done by colleges, but to leave out goverment and private funding gives the wrong inpression.
Brain research is also funded by buisness looking for ways to make products more attractive to buyers. "Why did you buy that anyway ?"
Of course drug companies have been accuse of other evils such as undue influence over doctor's drug choices with freebies. Trips, pens, note pads, to name a few. I would be surprized to find a picture of a doctor with his pants down and have his boxer shorts advertiseing Paxil.
From the press releases I've read I would dare to predict that by the end of this century Clinical depression, and other forms of this brain disorder will be cured. If not a cure certainly far more effective treatments without serious side effects.
There is a lot of research that is going on that wasn't possible in the 20th Century. We have powerful MRIs that can see into the living brain, then there is genetics where researchers are discovering the chemical basis of the disorder, there is even research going on into coustomizeing the medication to the individural. Instead of the one size fits all aproach that leaves eveyone guessing.
I'll recomend a web site to you that covers all the sciences and publishes a lot of press releases by researchers. It's called SCIENCE DAILY at http://www.sciencedaily.com
A lot of the time it's boreing but then one day.........
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