Blog about AntiDepressants medicine and health
Researchers at UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute have uncovered how antidepressants stimulate the brain to improve a person’s mood.
They have discovered the class of drugs that increase levels of a neurotransmitter known as ‘norepinephrine’ triggers neurogenesis – the growth of new neurons – in a brain region called the hippocampus.
Women who take certain antidepressant drugs while pregnant may double their child’s risk of being born with a certain variety of heart defect, according to a study conducted by researchers from Aarhaus University in Denmark and published in the medical journal BMJ.
“Anyone who is pregnant or considering becoming pregnant and has any concerns about the treatment for depression should speak to their doctor,” said Cathy Ross of the British Heart Foundation.
A medical study in Queensland has shed new light on the impact that some anti-depressants have on a person’s brain.
Researchers at the Queensland Brain Institute tested how a part of the brain responded to chemicals in different anti-depressants.
It was thought drugs like prozac produced new cells in the brain that then improved a person’s mood.
However, testing found this was not the case.
An paper published in January’s Journal of the American Medical Association has the medical community revisiting the use of antidepressants for mild to moderate depression.
“The study came out, and it was actually the compilation of six different studies,” said Dr. Jeffrey Ripperda, MD, of Murphysboro Health Center. “It showed that antidepressants are no better than sugar pills are for mild to moderate depression.”
According to the paper: The context of the study says that antidepressant medications represent the best established treatment for major depressive disorder, but there is little evidence that they have a specific pharmacological effect relative to pill placebo for patients with less severe depression.
This is not the first controversial study done involving antidepressants. Ripperda said that the controversy over the use of antidepressants has been going on for some time.
Tamoxifen – a breast cancer medicine used by millions of women — won’t work when taken with some common antidepressants, a new study says.
Tumors were more than twice as likely to return after two years in women taking antidepressants like Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil, compared with those taking the anti-cancer drug alone, the study showed.
The research by Medco Health Solutions was presented Tuesday at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Orlando.