Posted by linkadge on April 9, 2010, at 18:56:41
In reply to Re: Zoloft-Anti-Cancer Mechanisms, posted by linkadge on April 9, 2010, at 18:21:24
Just an opinion >held down at the mental health clinic of the >University of Pennsylvania.
These people factor the effectiveness compared to relative side effect burden. Effexor, is still arguably more effective than sertaline - however it doesn't rank as high with this U on account of side effect profile.
Analysis can be used to reach any conclusion. Sertaline is just one of those drugs that you can prescribe to the masses without much problem. When U of P recomends sertaline, perhaps (because most SSRI's these days are prescribed for mild / moderate depression) sertaline just fills a needed gap of a placebo like drug which doctors can prescribe without too many inherent risks.
Perhaps it has some positive benefit (in some clinical trials) which seperates it from placebo.
Keep in mind, if active placebos perform better than placebos which perform better than SSRI's, then ideally you want a placebo with the fewest side effects.Most clinical trials find antidepressants roughly equivalant (to themselves and placebo) in terms of efficacy. Why did sertaline and citalopram come out ahead of the others in this analysis?? Its simple - lower side effects.
If you can't make the drugs more effective, at least you can make them more tollerable.
If recomendations were to be made for the treatment of severe depression, things might be radically different.
Linkadge
poster:linkadge
thread:942117
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100406/msgs/942877.html