Earn For Satisfaction : Addiction to antidepressants

Showing posts with label Addiction to antidepressants. Show all posts

Sunday, 9 November 2014

Fish intake associated with boost to antidepressant response

Up to half of patients who suffer from depression (Major Depressive Disorder, or MDD) do not respond to treatment with SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors). Now a group of Dutch researchers have carried out a study which shows that increasing fatty fish intake appears to increase the response rate in patients who do not respond to antidepressants. This work is being presented at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology congress in Berlin.

According to lead researcher, Roel Mocking (Amsterdam): "We were looking for biological alterations that could explain depression and antidepressant non-response, so we combined two apparently unrelated measures: metabolism of fatty acids and stress hormone regulation. Interestingly, we saw that depressed patients had an altered metabolism of fatty acids, and that this changed metabolism was regulated in a different way by stress hormones."
The researchers were looking at the relationship between depression and fatty acids, and various hormones, including the stress hormone cortisol. They took 70 patients with depression and compared them to 51 healthy controls, by measuring their fatty acid levels and cortisol levels. They then gave the depressed patients 20mg of an SSRI daily for 6 weeks, and in those who did not respond to the SSRIs the dose was gradually increased up to 50mg/day. Fatty acid and cortisol levels were measured during the trial.
They found that the MDD patients who didn't respond to the SSRI also tended to have abnormal fatty acid metabolism, so they checked the dietary habits of all those taking part in the trial. Fatty fish is rich in fatty acids, such as the well-known Omega-3 DHA. So the researchers looked at the amount of fatty fish in the diet of all involved in the trial. They categorised the patients into 4 groups, according to their fatty fish intake, and they found that those who took the least fish tended to respond badly to anti-depressants, whereas those who had most fish in the diet responded best to anti-depressants. Those who ate fatty fish at least once a week had a 75% chance of responding to antidepressants, whereas those who never ate fatty fish had only a 23% chance of responding to antidepressants.
Roel Mocking continued: "This means that the alterations in fatty acid metabolism (and their relationship with stress hormone regulation) were associated with future antidepressant response. Importantly, this association was associated with eating fatty fish, which is an important dietary source of omega-3 fatty acids. These findings suggest that measures of fatty acid metabolism, and their association with stress hormone regulation, might be of use in the clinic as an early indicator of future antidepressant response. Moreover, fatty acid metabolism could be influenced by eating fish, which may be a way to improve antidepressant response rates."
"So far this is an association between fatty acids in blood and anti-depressant response; so it's not necessarily a causal effect. Our next step is to look at whether these alterations in fatty acid metabolism and hormonal activity are specific for depression, so we are currently repeating these measurements in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder and schizophrenia."
ECNP President, Professor Guy Goodwin (Oxford) said: 'Understanding non-response to treatment with SSRIs remains an important known unknown. There is already an intriguing association between eating fish and general health. The present study, while preliminary, takes the story into the realm of depression. Larger scale definitive studies will be of considerable interest."
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141020090142.htm

Friday, 15 August 2014

Anxiety and amen: Prayer doesn't ease symptoms of anxiety-related disorders for everyone

Whether the problem is health, enemies, poverty or difficulty with aging, "Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there," suggested the late gospel musician Charles A. Tindley. But when it comes to easing symptoms of anxiety-related disorders, prayer doesn't have the same effect for everybody, according to a Baylor University researcher.

What seems to matter more is the type of attachment a praying individual feels toward God. According to a Baylor study, those who prayed to a loving and supportive God whom they thought would be there to comfort and protect them in times of need were less likely to show symptoms of anxiety-related disorders -- symptoms such as irrational worry, fear, self-consciousness, dread in social situations and obsessive-compulsive behavior -- than those who prayed but did not expect God to comfort or protect them.
An article about the research -- "Prayer, Attachment to God, and Symptoms of Anxiety-Related Disorders among U.S. Adults" -- is published in the journal Sociology of Religion and was funded by the John Templeton Foundation.
While previous research has shown that people who have a secure attachment to God are more satisfied with life and less depressed and lonely, little attention has been paid to psychiatric symptoms, said researcher Matt Bradshaw, Ph.D., assistant professor of sociology in Baylor's College of Arts & Sciences.
"For many individuals, God is a major source of comfort and strength that makes the world seem less threatening and dangerous. Through prayer, individuals seek to develop an intimate relationship with God," Bradshaw said. "Those who achieve this goal, and believe that God will be there to protect and support them during times of need, develop a secure attachment to God. In this context, prayer appears to confer emotional comfort, which results in fewer symptoms of anxiety-related disorders.
"Other people, however, form avoidant or insecure attachments to God -- meaning that they do not necessarily believe God will be there when they need Him," he said. "For these individuals, prayer may feel like an unsuccessful attempt to cultivate and maintain an intimate relationship with God. Rejected, unanswered or otherwise unsuccessful experiences of prayer may be disturbing and debilitating -- and may therefore lead to more frequent and severe symptoms of anxiety-related disorders."
Researchers analyzed data from 1,714 of the individuals who participated in the most recent wave of the Baylor Religion Survey, completed in November 2010 by the Gallup Organization and analyzed by sociologist researchers at Baylor. The study focused on general anxiety, social anxiety, obsession and compulsion.
Teachings of Christianity and some other faiths use the parent-child imagery to depict the relationship between God and an individual, with one researcher describing God as "the ultimate attachment figure." The Baylor study findings are consistent with a growing body of research indicating that a person's perceived relationship with God can play an important role in shaping mental health.
In theory, people who pray regularly may be inclined to live out their religion more faithfully, which may lead to less stress, such as marriage and family conflicts, researchers wrote. People who pray often may have more of a sense of purpose in life or have more supportive personal relations. And many people use prayer as a coping strategy.
When it comes to personal prayer outside of religious organizations, however, findings by previous researchers have been inconsistent -- and puzzling. Some studies indicate frequent praying has positive effects on mental health; others report no effect -- or even that people who pray more often have poorer mental health than those who pray less frequently. "At the present, we don't know exactly why the findings have been so inconsistent," Bradshaw said. "Prayer is complex."
Some possible explanations for varying findings:
• Individual expectations. Some scholars suggest that "if you expect prayer to matter, it just might," Bradshaw said. In several studies of older adults, people who believe that only God knows when and how to respond to prayer fare well when it comes to mental health; those who think their prayers are not being answered do not.
• Style of prayer. In general, meditative and colloquial prayers have been linked with desirable outcomes, including emotional well-being, while ritualistic prayer actually has been associated with poor mental health outcomes. Meditative prayer is concerned with closeness and intimacy during reflection and communication with a loving, supportive God; colloquial prayer takes that a step further by also asking for help, such as guidance in decision-making, blessings for the world or less widespread suffering. "These requests tend to be broad, however, and are aimed at making the world a better place instead of personal enrichment," Bradshaw said. Ritualistic prayer, in contrast, is less intimate and usually involves reciting common prayers or lines from sacred texts.
• Perceived characteristics of God -- such as loving, remote or judgmental -- affect the relationship between prayer and mental health. "Our previous work has found that prayer is associated with desirable mental health outcomes among individuals who believe that they are praying to a God who is close as opposed to remote, and the results from the current study are largely consistent with this finding," Bradshaw said.
"These are all important considerations, but a comprehensive understanding of the connection between prayer and mental health remains elusive," he said. "We still have a lot of work to do in this area."
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140812121404.htm

Saturday, 14 June 2014

Our terrifying addiction to antidepressants: GPs dole out 25% more 'happy pills' in just three years

ritons are increasingly relying on antidepressants – with the number of prescriptions soaring by a quarter in just three years.

NHS figures reveal that 53million were issued last year – a record high – compared with just 42.8million in 2010, and 20.1million in 1999.

Some psychiatrists say that people suffering what used to be a bout of the everyday blues are now being diagnosed with a medical condition and prescribed treatment.

Soaring: NHS figures reveal a sharp increase in the number of antidepressants, such as Prozac, being handed out in Britain

There is also concern that GPs are handing out pills such as Prozac and Seroxat too freely when they should be referring patients for counselling or other therapies.

Doctors say they have no choice but to prescribe medication because the waiting times for talking therapies are so long and patients are reluctant to leave without treatment.

But some experts say there is little evidence that the pills even work and they can cause debilitating side effects such as agitation, tiredness and suicidal thoughts.

Dr Joanna Moncrieff, an author on mental health drugs and consultant psychiatrist at North East London NHS Foundation Trust, said: ‘Being depressed from time to time is a universal human experience.

‘Diagnosing people with a medical disorder and prescribing a pill may appear to offer an easy answer, but it stores up more problems than it solves.

As a society, our dependence on antidepressants makes us less resilient and less resourceful in the face of the everyday challenges of modern living.

In my clinical experience, many people just carry on taking their antidepressant because they are too fearful to stop, and research in general practice confirms that people are taking these drugs for longer and longer periods.’

Dangers: experts have spoken out about how people using the pills can become too afraid to stop, even when they do not need them any more

Labour MP Jim Dobbin, chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on involuntary tranquilliser addiction, said there were ‘serious problems’ with addiction to antidepressants.

‘We need closer regulation of this,’ he said. ‘The pharmaceutical industry is very powerful and puts too much pressure on the medical profession to prescribe them.’

A report by the Health and Social Care Information Centre last year showed that in some parts of the UK as many as one in six adults is on antidepressants.

One such area is the South Wales borough of Blaenau Gwent, where the NHS issues almost 10,000 prescriptions for different types of ‘happy pills’ each month.

It is one of the most economically depressed areas of the UK and local GP Greg Graham has spoken of the problems that lead to the heavy use of medication.

‘There remains a lot of low morale, issues of poor health and lack of opportunities,’ he said.

A charity has set up a drop-in centre in one of the towns, Brynmawr, for people on antidepressants to receive counselling or just have a cup of tea. It is said to be used by a ‘significant number’ of people in their early 20s.

Separate data from the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development shows that the UK has the seventh highest prescribing rate for antidepressants in the Western world.

There are 71 daily doses for every 1,000 people, compared with 38 daily doses per 1,000 people a decade ago.

In France and Germany the figure is 50 doses a day, while in Italy it is 42 doses a day.

Sophie Corlett, from the mental health charity Mind, said: ‘The number of prescriptions for antidepressants issued in the UK has been rising for many years. These new figures show no sign of this trend slowing and we need to know why we are seeing persistent increases.

‘We know that people are more aware of other treatment options and many do not want to be treated with drugs but cannot, and should not have to, wait months for therapy.’

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2609114/Our-terrifying-addiction-antidepressants-GPs-dole-25-happy-pills-just-three-years.html

Monday, 21 April 2014

Our terrifying addiction to antidepressants

Britons are increasingly relying on antidepressants – with the number of prescriptions soaring by a quarter in just three years.

NHS figures reveal that 53million were issued last year – a record high – compared with just 42.8million in 2010, and 20.1million in 1999.

Some psychiatrists say that people suffering what used to be a bout of the everyday blues are now being diagnosed with a medical condition and prescribed treatment.

Soaring: NHS figures reveal a sharp increase in the number of antidepressants, such as Prozac, being handed out in Britain

There is also concern that GPs are handing out pills such as Prozac and Seroxat too freely when they should be referring patients for counselling or other therapies.

Doctors say they have no choice but to prescribe medication because the waiting times for talking therapies are so long and patients are reluctant to leave without treatment.

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