Antidepressants May Up Risk of Relapse

[Guest guest]

Antidepressants May Up Risk of Relapse

By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News EditorReviewed by M. Grohol, Psy.D. on July 20, 2011

According to a Canadian researcher, individuals who use antidepressants are much more likely to suffer relapses of major depression than those who use no medication at all.

The provocative paper is sure to add to the controversy over depression treatment. Dr. s, an evolutionary psychologist, believes that patients who have used antidepressant medications can be nearly twice as susceptible to future episodes of major depression.

s is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behavior at McMaster University. The paper, for which he is the lead author, appears in the journal Frontiers of Psychology.

Researchers performed a meta-analysis combining the results from similar studies.

From the compilation, they found that people who have not been taking any medication are at a 25 per cent risk of relapse, compared to 42 per cent or higher for those who have taken and gone off an antidepressant.

The investigators reviewed dozens of previously published studies comparing the use of placebo to antidepressants.

They analyzed research on subjects who started on medications and were switched to placebos, subjects who were administered placebos throughout their treatment, and subjects who continued to take medication throughout their course of treatment.

s said antidepressants interfere with the brains natural self-regulation of serotonin and other neurotransmitters, and that the brain can overcorrect once medication is suspended, triggering new depression.

s believes antidepressants disturb the brains natural regulatory mechanisms, which he compares to putting a weight on a spring.

The brain, like the spring, pushes back against the weight. Going off antidepressant drugs is like removing the weight from the spring, leaving the person at increased risk of depression when the brain, like the compressed spring, shoots out before retracting to its resting state.

We found that the more these drugs affect serotonin and other neurotransmitters in your brain and thats what theyre supposed to do the greater your risk of relapse once you stop taking them, s said.

All these drugs do reduce symptoms, probably to some degree, in the short-term. The trick is what happens in the long term. Our results suggest that when you try to go off the drugs, depression will bounce back. This can leave people stuck in a cycle where they need to keep taking antidepressants to prevent a return of symptoms.

s takes a contrarian view of depression, viewing the condition as a natural and beneficial though painful state in which the brain is working to cope with stress.

Theres a lot of debate about whether or not depression is truly a disorder, as most clinicians and the majority of the psychiatric establishment believe, or whether its an evolved adaptation that does something useful, he said.

Long-term studies cited in the paper show that more than 40 per cent of the population may experience major depression at some point in their lives. Most depressive episodes are triggered by traumatic events such as the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship or the loss of a job.

According to s, the brain may cope with this trauma by enacting coping mechanisms altering other functions such as appetite, sex drive, sleep and social connectivity.

Just as the body uses fever to fight infection, he believes the brain may also be using depression to fight unusual stress.

Not every case is the same, and severe cases can reach the point where they are clearly not beneficial, he said.

Source: McMaster University

http://psychcentral.com/news/2011/07/20/antidepressants-may-up-risk-of-relapse/27903.html

[Guest guest]

Antidepressants May Up Risk of Relapse

By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News EditorReviewed by M. Grohol, Psy.D. on July 20, 2011

According to a Canadian researcher, individuals who use antidepressants are much more likely to suffer relapses of major depression than those who use no medication at all.

The provocative paper is sure to add to the controversy over depression treatment. Dr. s, an evolutionary psychologist, believes that patients who have used antidepressant medications can be nearly twice as susceptible to future episodes of major depression.

s is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behavior at McMaster University. The paper, for which he is the lead author, appears in the journal Frontiers of Psychology.

Researchers performed a meta-analysis combining the results from similar studies.

From the compilation, they found that people who have not been taking any medication are at a 25 per cent risk of relapse, compared to 42 per cent or higher for those who have taken and gone off an antidepressant.

The investigators reviewed dozens of previously published studies comparing the use of placebo to antidepressants.

They analyzed research on subjects who started on medications and were switched to placebos, subjects who were administered placebos throughout their treatment, and subjects who continued to take medication throughout their course of treatment.

s said antidepressants interfere with the brains natural self-regulation of serotonin and other neurotransmitters, and that the brain can overcorrect once medication is suspended, triggering new depression.

s believes antidepressants disturb the brains natural regulatory mechanisms, which he compares to putting a weight on a spring.

The brain, like the spring, pushes back against the weight. Going off antidepressant drugs is like removing the weight from the spring, leaving the person at increased risk of depression when the brain, like the compressed spring, shoots out before retracting to its resting state.

We found that the more these drugs affect serotonin and other neurotransmitters in your brain and thats what theyre supposed to do the greater your risk of relapse once you stop taking them, s said.

All these drugs do reduce symptoms, probably to some degree, in the short-term. The trick is what happens in the long term. Our results suggest that when you try to go off the drugs, depression will bounce back. This can leave people stuck in a cycle where they need to keep taking antidepressants to prevent a return of symptoms.

s takes a contrarian view of depression, viewing the condition as a natural and beneficial though painful state in which the brain is working to cope with stress.

Theres a lot of debate about whether or not depression is truly a disorder, as most clinicians and the majority of the psychiatric establishment believe, or whether its an evolved adaptation that does something useful, he said.

Long-term studies cited in the paper show that more than 40 per cent of the population may experience major depression at some point in their lives. Most depressive episodes are triggered by traumatic events such as the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship or the loss of a job.

According to s, the brain may cope with this trauma by enacting coping mechanisms altering other functions such as appetite, sex drive, sleep and social connectivity.

Just as the body uses fever to fight infection, he believes the brain may also be using depression to fight unusual stress.

Not every case is the same, and severe cases can reach the point where they are clearly not beneficial, he said.

Source: McMaster University

http://psychcentral.com/news/2011/07/20/antidepressants-may-up-risk-of-relapse/27903.html

[Guest guest]

Antidepressants May Up Risk of Relapse

By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News EditorReviewed by M. Grohol, Psy.D. on July 20, 2011

According to a Canadian researcher, individuals who use antidepressants are much more likely to suffer relapses of major depression than those who use no medication at all.

The provocative paper is sure to add to the controversy over depression treatment. Dr. s, an evolutionary psychologist, believes that patients who have used antidepressant medications can be nearly twice as susceptible to future episodes of major depression.

s is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behavior at McMaster University. The paper, for which he is the lead author, appears in the journal Frontiers of Psychology.

Researchers performed a meta-analysis combining the results from similar studies.

From the compilation, they found that people who have not been taking any medication are at a 25 per cent risk of relapse, compared to 42 per cent or higher for those who have taken and gone off an antidepressant.

The investigators reviewed dozens of previously published studies comparing the use of placebo to antidepressants.

They analyzed research on subjects who started on medications and were switched to placebos, subjects who were administered placebos throughout their treatment, and subjects who continued to take medication throughout their course of treatment.

s said antidepressants interfere with the brains natural self-regulation of serotonin and other neurotransmitters, and that the brain can overcorrect once medication is suspended, triggering new depression.

s believes antidepressants disturb the brains natural regulatory mechanisms, which he compares to putting a weight on a spring.

The brain, like the spring, pushes back against the weight. Going off antidepressant drugs is like removing the weight from the spring, leaving the person at increased risk of depression when the brain, like the compressed spring, shoots out before retracting to its resting state.

We found that the more these drugs affect serotonin and other neurotransmitters in your brain and thats what theyre supposed to do the greater your risk of relapse once you stop taking them, s said.

All these drugs do reduce symptoms, probably to some degree, in the short-term. The trick is what happens in the long term. Our results suggest that when you try to go off the drugs, depression will bounce back. This can leave people stuck in a cycle where they need to keep taking antidepressants to prevent a return of symptoms.

s takes a contrarian view of depression, viewing the condition as a natural and beneficial though painful state in which the brain is working to cope with stress.

Theres a lot of debate about whether or not depression is truly a disorder, as most clinicians and the majority of the psychiatric establishment believe, or whether its an evolved adaptation that does something useful, he said.

Long-term studies cited in the paper show that more than 40 per cent of the population may experience major depression at some point in their lives. Most depressive episodes are triggered by traumatic events such as the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship or the loss of a job.

According to s, the brain may cope with this trauma by enacting coping mechanisms altering other functions such as appetite, sex drive, sleep and social connectivity.

Just as the body uses fever to fight infection, he believes the brain may also be using depression to fight unusual stress.

Not every case is the same, and severe cases can reach the point where they are clearly not beneficial, he said.

Source: McMaster University

http://psychcentral.com/news/2011/07/20/antidepressants-may-up-risk-of-relapse/27903.html

[Guest guest]

Antidepressants May Up Risk of Relapse

By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News EditorReviewed by M. Grohol, Psy.D. on July 20, 2011

According to a Canadian researcher, individuals who use antidepressants are much more likely to suffer relapses of major depression than those who use no medication at all.

The provocative paper is sure to add to the controversy over depression treatment. Dr. s, an evolutionary psychologist, believes that patients who have used antidepressant medications can be nearly twice as susceptible to future episodes of major depression.

s is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behavior at McMaster University. The paper, for which he is the lead author, appears in the journal Frontiers of Psychology.

Researchers performed a meta-analysis combining the results from similar studies.

From the compilation, they found that people who have not been taking any medication are at a 25 per cent risk of relapse, compared to 42 per cent or higher for those who have taken and gone off an antidepressant.

The investigators reviewed dozens of previously published studies comparing the use of placebo to antidepressants.

They analyzed research on subjects who started on medications and were switched to placebos, subjects who were administered placebos throughout their treatment, and subjects who continued to take medication throughout their course of treatment.

s said antidepressants interfere with the brains natural self-regulation of serotonin and other neurotransmitters, and that the brain can overcorrect once medication is suspended, triggering new depression.

s believes antidepressants disturb the brains natural regulatory mechanisms, which he compares to putting a weight on a spring.

The brain, like the spring, pushes back against the weight. Going off antidepressant drugs is like removing the weight from the spring, leaving the person at increased risk of depression when the brain, like the compressed spring, shoots out before retracting to its resting state.

We found that the more these drugs affect serotonin and other neurotransmitters in your brain and thats what theyre supposed to do the greater your risk of relapse once you stop taking them, s said.

All these drugs do reduce symptoms, probably to some degree, in the short-term. The trick is what happens in the long term. Our results suggest that when you try to go off the drugs, depression will bounce back. This can leave people stuck in a cycle where they need to keep taking antidepressants to prevent a return of symptoms.

s takes a contrarian view of depression, viewing the condition as a natural and beneficial though painful state in which the brain is working to cope with stress.

Theres a lot of debate about whether or not depression is truly a disorder, as most clinicians and the majority of the psychiatric establishment believe, or whether its an evolved adaptation that does something useful, he said.

Long-term studies cited in the paper show that more than 40 per cent of the population may experience major depression at some point in their lives. Most depressive episodes are triggered by traumatic events such as the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship or the loss of a job.

According to s, the brain may cope with this trauma by enacting coping mechanisms altering other functions such as appetite, sex drive, sleep and social connectivity.

Just as the body uses fever to fight infection, he believes the brain may also be using depression to fight unusual stress.

Not every case is the same, and severe cases can reach the point where they are clearly not beneficial, he said.

Source: McMaster University

http://psychcentral.com/news/2011/07/20/antidepressants-may-up-risk-of-relapse/27903.html