A new study found that most antidepressants are not effective for teenagers and children, but the only brand name Prozac is effective.
The study published earlier this month in The Journal Lancet concluded that among 14 prescribed antidepressants, only the brand name Prozac was more effective than a placebo. The study found that its benefits outweighed harms.
The researchers analyzed 34 randomized controlled trials, which involved 5,260 participants ranging in age from 9 to 18. Each participant took an antidepressant or placebo for an average of eight weeks.
The result of the study shows only one drug among all antidepressants is statistically better than placebo, accoding to lead author of the study and an associate professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Oxford in England, Andrea Cipriani, however he cautioned that children and adolescents who are currently taking other antidepressants that apparently working for them should not stop taking because individual responses can vary and some drugs may in fact work for certain individuals.
The author has no financial ties to any pharmaceutical companies, The Wall Street Journal reported. Usually, authors who disclosed study received money and/or travel expenses from pharmaceutical companies for lectures or research grants, however, for this study, Cipriani claimed were no financial issues that influenced the results.
Meanwhile, a new blood test reported may be useful to find the best antidepressant match, according to British scientists.
On June 7, the Brit scientists announced they developed a blood test that can accurately predict what depressive drug available on the market that suitable for the patient, Washington Post reported.
This new developed laboratory test for mental health is important because half to the patients who were tested do not respond to the first-line antidepressant, thus making them spend more months struggling to find a right drug for them.
About three percent of children ages 6 to 12 year old, are struggling with depression, while there were six percent of teens affected by depression.
