PSYC 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 25: Publication Bias, Carbamazepine, Mania
Document Summary
Mood stabilizers are used to treat mania. All antidepressant and anti-mania meds come with side effects some mild others not. Side effects exist because of non-selectivity and because neurotransmitters do many things in the brain and body. As with all medication it comes down to a cost benefit analysis. Often finding the right antidepressant or combination of antidepressant requires trial and error. Antidepressants fail to work in up to 50% of the individuals who take them. A 2002 meta-analysis of data revealed that 80-90% of antidepressant effects were duplicated by placebos. Antidepressant do appear to work better than placebo in severely depressed patients. The fda reviews all findings (both negative and positive) when approving new drugs. But that doesn"t mean that all the negative findings find their way into published journals. Approximately of the studies of 12 different antidepressants reviewed by the fda found them to be no more effective than placebo. If they work for you then, they work!
