Antidepressants 'fail to treat all symptoms'
Thursday 21st April 2011
Antidepressants do not cure all the symptoms of depression, new findings have indicated.
Even in patients who show a clear response to medication, symptoms such as insomnia, decreased concentration and sadness sometimes persist, according to the study conducted at the University of Texas Southwestern.
Despite this, suicidal thoughts were found to usually be eradicated by the medication, revealed the research published in the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology.
Lead author Dr Shawn McClintock explained: "Widely used antidepressant medications, while working overall, missed these symptoms. If patients have persistent residual symptoms, these individuals have a high probability of incomplete recovery."
Meanwhile, other research on antidepressants has indicated they could be used to improve stroke recovery.
Research published in the Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry revealed a significantly improved recovery in stroke victims who took a short course of the medication.
In addition, the effects of the antidepressants were seen to continue for at least nine months after the antidepressant medication was stopped.
Written by Mathew Horton
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