Antidepressants do not work as scientists thought

Scientists have found that sertraline is effective in the treatment of anxiety disorders.

In every person's life, events occur that have a negative impact on the nervous system. , constant stress, loss of loved ones, moving, job changes and other factors can lead to the development of some mental diseases. Many experts note that the vast majority of seeking psychological help suffer from anxiety disorders of varying severity. Anxiety unsettling and can lead to the onset of symptoms . And depression are known to be treated with antidepressants. Recently, scientists have discovered that antidepressants do not work as they thought.

what antidepressants?

Antidepressants called drugs to combat the most common disease on the planet — . Contrary to popular belief that depression — it is solely a mental illness, depression is actually a physical disease. The fact that the brain — the most complex organ of the human body and to understand how it all works is not easy.

Today, However, medicine has advanced and we know what occurs and proceeds depression. The causes of this disease are not fully understood, but experts say that this contributes to a number of factors — from a genetic predisposition to chronic stress.

Antidepressants can look different

Because the depression — the real disease, symptoms are lowered mood and an inability to experience pleasure (anhedonia), depression to the usual brain fails. The number of neurotransmitters responsible for good mood and ability to feel pleasure — of serotonin and dopamine — is not enough. Also, studies indicate that depression negatively affects the connectivity of the white matter — the nervous tissue in the form of tightly Packed bundles of nerve fibers.

Taking anti-depressants, in particular from the group of selective inhibitors of serotonin reuptake SSRIs — restore the balance of neurotransmitters in the brain, increasing the amount of serotonin, thereby eliminating the symptoms of depression. Today antidepressants from group SSRI, namely sertraline, are the most common drugs of depression in the world. Thus, most studies of antidepressants have occurred decades ago. The subjects mainly were patients suffering from severe depression. Today, however, most people taking these drugs suffer from mild or moderate depression.

How do antidepressants work?

The Vast majority of antidepressants prescribed by the doctor today, patients with mild or moderate . At the same time, there are cases when antidepressants are prescribed without pronounced symptoms. Therefore, scientists wanted to figure out how in such cases, sertraline (we are talking about the treatment of mild to moderate depression). Experts have discovered that the drug really works, but not how they expected.

to Take antidepressants only under the supervision of physicians

A study published in the journal The Lancet Psychiatry. The subjects were made by patients with symptoms of depression — from minor to severe. All patients were treated with sertraline, regardless of the severity of depression, as scientists wanted to find out what help is actually having this drug. The study involved more than 650 people, aged 18 to 74 years. They all told the doctors about the presence of symptoms of depression, such as poor mood, loss of pleasure, difficulty concentrating and sleep problems. Experts randomly assigned patients to one of two groups: the first group received sertraline for 12 weeks, the second group received a placebo that looked identical to tablet of sertraline.

Neither the researchers nor the patients knew which group of people are treated each subject. This type of "double blind study" helps to reduce the bias in the course of the study. Scientists regularly interviewed the subjects about their well-being: two, six, and 12 weeks after starting treatment.

Reducing anxiety

The Results surprised experts. Their theory was that symptoms of depression with use of sertraline taper off after six weeks, but scientists have found no evidence that this is so. Any effect on symptoms of depression occurred later and was less convincing. On the contrary, the results indicated that sertraline led to a rapid decrease and after a few weeks reduced the severity of symptoms of depression.

to Cope with depression can be taking medication and attending psychotherapy, the researchers note.

Note that the majority of patients with depressive symptoms also suffer from anxiety disorders of varying severity. Reducing symptoms of anxiety, antidepressants make people feel with depression better. Those who took the antidepressant, are twice as likely to have talked about the fact that they feel better than those whotook a placebo. Thus, despite the fact that the sertraline in the first place removes the anxiety, and then depression, its intake leads to improvement of the quality of human life.

Has long been a debate about whether antidepressants help people with minor depression. The study included people with a wide range of severity of this disease. Experts have not found evidence that the effect of the antidepressant was less in patients with mild to moderate depression. It turned out that the sertraline brings benefits to a wider group of people than previously thought.

The results of the study confirm the effectiveness of assignment of sertraline and other such people with symptoms of depression and anxiety. As with any medication, benefits must be associated with any side effects, and taking into account the presence of withdrawal symptoms when you stop taking the drug.