The Journal of American Medicine (JAMA) reports that some antidepressants are not more effective than placebo pills, exercise or sun exposure for patients with mild to moderate depression.

The current study was a long-standing debate in psychiatry rules on drugs like Prozac, Paxil, Effexor and other so-called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). The results at six large drug trials of 728 men and women, about half of them with severe depression and the other half with moderate symptoms.

Although the study does not mean that drugs are of no value to anyone with moderate to severe depression, the findings, a likely explanation for the disagreement among the experts about the effectiveness of the drug in general.

Scientists have always suspected

a strong link between levels of serotonin in the human brain and mood swings. Data from earlier experiments with two types of drugs and found that their effectiveness depends on the severity of depression is treated in addiction.

“I think the study could dampen the enthusiasm of some antidepressants, and what can be a good thing,” said Dr. Erick H. Turner, a psychiatrist at Oregon Health and Science University, in a recent interview New York Times. “The expectations of the people for drugs are so high and the doctors will not be surprised if they do not want to heal all the patients they see with drugs.”

A team of researchers, including psychologists, psychotherapists for it (or talk therapy) and physicians, leading pharmaceutical companies with detailed advice on the analysis of subsidies government.

“We have a global estimate of efficacy for the first time in this area of moderate severity, have 14 to 20 on the scale, in which regard it is no doubt that doctors would probably prescribe drugs, said Dr. DeRubeis Times .

said “The message for patients with mild to moderate depression,” said Dr. DeRubeis, “is:” Look, drugs are always an option, but there is little evidence to complement the other efforts to deepen -. shake whether the exercise because the doctor go, reading about the disorder or to psychotherapy “

Depression medication