Jim Moore -

Ok,

So here we go. This study, like most psychiatric studies, are enough to make your head spin.

IF I was going to present this study to legislators then I would make a summary (or find press

that already did a good job of explaining the study) and then highlight the pertinent part only

so they don't fall asleep. Legislators are usually in a big hurry, as you've probably foud out and

love for data to be quickly understood.

I want to mention that there was a Senator pushing to ban aspartame in NM and I bet that

Sentaor would be interested in your study group if he isn't already. You may know all about this.

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2006/01/22/new_mexico_aspartame_bills_charge_fda_inaction.htm

Here is the press that gives a good summary of the study above:

Selective Publication of Antidepressant Trials and Its Influence on Apparent Efficacy

Erick H. Turner, M.D., Annette M. Matthews, M.D., Eftihia Linardatos, B.S., Robert A. Tell, L.C.S.W., and Robert Rosenthal, Ph.D.

Conclusion:

We cannot determine whether the bias observed resulted from a failure to submit manuscripts on the part of authors and sponsors, from decisions by journal editors and reviewers not to publish, or both. Selective reporting of clinical trial results may have adverse consequences for researchers, study participants, health care professionals, and patients.

http://www.nbc5i.com/health/15238526/detail.html

Study: Antidepressants May Not Work As Well As Believed

Unpublished Data Shows Only 51 Percent Of Antidepressant Studies Are Positive

POSTED: 6:16 pm CST February 6, 2008

UPDATED: 10:11 am CST February 7, 2008

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Several reports reveal some best-selling antidepressants may only be as good as sugar pills.

Video: Antidepressants May Not Be As Effective As Thought

Cristal Green is one of the many Americans who have struggled with depression and who take antidepressants.

"After my father's death, things were not the same. I wasn't having normal reactions to everyday events. They were either a little magnified or lower than they should have been," said Green.

Green said Wellbutrin and Lexapro work wonders for her moods, but a new report in the New England Journal of Medicine calls antidepressants into question. Frisco's Amy Philo backs up the report and told NBC 5 she never got the help she was seeking from antidepressants.

"I never saw any positive effect whatsoever. It was all bad, like got worse and worse the longer I was on it," said Philo.

Researchers with the New England Journal of Medicine looked at unpublished data submitted to the Food and Drug Administration and found that from 1987 to 2004 there were 74 studies done on antidepressants. Of those studies, the FDA deemed 38 of them positive while the remaining 36 were found to have negative results. Twenty-two of those studies were never published.

"I guess if the journals aren't publishing it, and the FDA isn't telling anyone, then the drug companies can get away with it," said Philo. "There are a lot of people out there who have known about this and it's kind of good that people are finally listening."

A Baylor physician, Dr. Jane Salder, said there is a lot people may not know about the effectiveness of antidepressants, and that their effectiveness has a lot to do with the patient.

"Based on the more recent studies, some of the levels of effectiveness of antidepressants are probably exaggerated but we have to rely on what we see in clinical practice," said Salder.

Sadler was quick to point out, however, that she has many patients like Green who have success with antidepressants, perceived or not.

"We know there are definitely people who respond to these medications, definitely need these medications -- their lives are changed," said Salder.

Green said she is reluctant to believe the drugs that work so well for her may not chemically take the edge off.

"I would think that would be just the type [of drug] that they were on or the dosage level for that person," said Green.

A study at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center states that each year, about 19 million American adults, or 9.5 percent of the population, struggle with depression, a recurring and chronic illness. The illness frequently returns two or more times, each episode usually lasting two years or more.

New research shows that one in nearly four people who do not achieve a full remission of symptoms from an initial antidepressant became symptom-free after changing to or adding a second antidepressant. Phase two results of the four-phase study on treatments for depression, the largest of its kind, appear online in two companion articles in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The FDA and drug companies have now changed their disclosure policy and all studies have to be reported now, published or not.