22MOON.COM
You can see the whole Earth from the Moon!

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Professor Kirsch,

a psychologist,

reached his conclusion after

combining the results of 35 clinical

trials involving more than 5,000

patients with depression.

The data on Prozac,

Seroxat,

Efexor and a fourth drug not

used in the UK had been submitted

to the U.S. drug watchdog ahead

of the antidepressants being

licensed for sale.

Two-thirds of those taking part in

the studies were prescribed the SSRIs,

while the remainder took

placebo tablets.

Comparison of the two groups

showed that in the majority of cases

the mental health of those taking

anti-depressants improved little

more than those on dummy pills.

Only those who were

extremely depressed –

a very small proportion

of those studied –

fared substantially better

when on medication.

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The results suggest that those

taking the tablets mainly benefit

from the “placebo effect” –

in which symptoms are eased

not by medication but by relief

in diagnosis and the simple

expectation a treatment will work.

Professor Kirsch emphasised that

patients should not change their

treatment without speaking to

their doctor,

but said other approaches include

physical exercise,

psychoanalysis and self-help books.

Richard Ley,

the Association of the British

Pharmaceutical Industry,

the drug industry’s trade body,

said all medicines have to be

proven to be more effective than a

placebo before they are put on sale.

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A spokesman for the National

Institute for Health and

Clinical Excellence,

which draws up guidelines on

the treatment of illnesses, said

routine use of anti-depressants is

not recommended for mild depression.

He added that Professor Kirsch’s

results would be taken into

consideration when the existing

guidelines are reviewed later this year.

Hailed as a miracle cure for

depression when they were

first prescribed in the late 1980s,

the “happy pills” known as SSRIs

work by keeping the mood boosting

chemical serotonin in the

brain for longer.

Kate Charles spent seven years

on anti-depressant drugs after

suffering severe depression

as a teenager.

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___________KATE CHARLES

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It was only when she took up

running that she was able to stop

taking the pills after finding that

exercise was better at

lifting her mood.

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Speaking about her

experiences three years ago,

the 35-year-old writer from Dorset,

said:

“I have always felt quite low

but my depression really hit

when I was a teenager.

“By the time I was 15,

my GP was prescribing betablockers

to relax my nerve impulses,

slow my heartbeat down

and make me feel calmer.

Then, before my A-levels,

I was put on anti-depressants.

“In my final year at Sussex University,

my GP moved me on to Prozac,

which was the wonder drug at the time.

“Although it improved the depression,

I felt detached and numb.

I had other terrible side-effects -

painful, aching joints,

sleeplessness and anxiety.

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“Somehow, I managed to get a job

in a finance company and struggled

on but Prozac was my

constant companion.”

Things changed when she set

herself the challenge of training

for a marathon.

She said:

“Running was so much more

effective at lifting my mood

than Prozac that I consulted the

doctor and spent eight months

weaning myself off the drugs.

“The withdrawal was painful

but I was determined.

I have no doubt that running

took me out of my depression.”

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Honey:

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Ritalin and meth

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