WebProNews

Tag: antidepressants

  • Depression Signs Could be Treated With Alzheimer’s Drug

    Millions of Americans with depression function perfectly well using common treatments, but there are those whose disease shows resistance to most drugs. Researchers this week announced some hope for those people in new research that could eventually lead to a treatment for treatment-resistant depression – and that hope is coming from an unlikely place.

    Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center this week announced new research into a drug that could form the basis of a new rapid-acting antidepressant. The drug, memantine, acts on the brain’s NMDA receptors – those known to play a role in treating depression. The researchers believe that their findings could eventually lead to a treatment that blocks NMDA receptors and better controls depression with fewer side effects. Memantine is currently approved by the FDA for use in treating Alzheimer’s disease.

    Memantine is chemically similar to ketamine, a drug best known for its recreational uses. Ketamine is known to produce a fast-acting antidepressant effect in patients. However, ketamine’s other effects and recreational use make it unsuitable for the treatment of depression. Memantine reacts with the same brain receptors as ketamine, though researchers have found that it doesn’t produce the same antidepressant effect. The UT researchers are hoping that their studies will lead to a fast-acting antidepressant that doesn’t have the side effects of ketamine.

    “Although, both ketamine and memantine have similar actions when nerve cells are active, under resting conditions, memantine is less effective in blocking nerve cell communication compared to ketamine,” said Lisa Monteggia, one of the researchers and a professor of Neuroscience at UT. “This fundamental difference in their action could explain why memantine has not been effective as a rapid antidepressant.”

    Monteggia and her colleagues are currently examining the molecular basis of how nerve cells communicate, to determine why ketamine and memantine produce different effects. The team is also researching antidepressant efficacy, and what bodily systems contribute to different drugs’ effects.

    Image via Thinkstock

  • Generic Versions of Cymbalta Approved by the FDA

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week approved the first generic versions of the antidepressant duloxetine, commonly marketed as Cymbalta. The drug is a delayed-release medication used to treat depression and some other specific conditions.

    The new generic versions of Cymbalta will function the same as the branded version of the drug, and at the same strength. This also means, however, that the generic version carries the same side effects of Cymbalta, including nausea, dry mouth, drowsiness, fatigue, decreased appetite, excessive sweating, and dizziness. The drugs also carry the increased risk of suicidal thinking in those younger than 24 years old – a side effect seen in a variety of antidepressant drugs.

    The approval of the generic version of Cymbalta will bring the drug to market in the U.S. at a much lower price, allowing the drug to be used by a broader segment of Americans who may not be able to afford brand name drugs.

    The FDA emphasized that generic versions of drugs are just as potent as their branded counterparts. The generics go through the same approval procedures as branded drugs and generic drug manufacturers and packagers must meet the same standards as those that manufacture and pack brand names. The generics must also come with medication guides.

    “Health care professionals and consumers can be assured that these FDA-approved generic drugs have met our rigorous standards,” said Dr. Kathleen Uhl, acting director of the Office of Generic Drugs at the FDA. “Generic drugs offer greater access to health care for many people.”

  • FDA Approves New Antidepressant, Brintellix

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced that it has approved vortioxetine, a new medication to treat major depressive disorder in adults. The drug is marketed by both Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Lundbeck as Brintellix, and will come in 5 mg, 10 mg, 15 mg, and 20 mg tablets.

    The drug was approved following six clinical trials which showed the medication was successful in treating depression. A seventh study also showed that, after treatment with Brintellix, patients may see a decrease the chance of becoming depressed again.

    “Major depressive disorder can be disabling and can keep a person from functioning normally,” said Dr. Mitchell Mathis, acting director of the Division of Psychiatry Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “Since medications affect everyone differently, it is important to have a variety of treatment options available for patients who suffer from depression.”

    As a serotonin modulator, Brintellix’s side effects were found to be similar to those of other antidepressants. During the trials the most common side effects identified were nausea, constipation, and vomiting. In addition, Brintellix will carry the same box warning as other antidepressants, warning that antidepressants have been found to increase the risk of suicidal thoughts in children, teens, and young adults up to the age of 24.

  • Antidepressants Are Overprescribed, Says Doctor

    A doctor writing for the British Medial Journal (BMJ) has stated that antidepressants are overprescribed. His views are part of a debate on the BMJ website over treatment with antidepressants.

    Dr. Des Spence, a general practitioner from Glasgow, said that “”we use antidepressants too easily, for too long, and that they are effective for few people (if at all).” Though he acknowledges that depression is real, he argued that the definition of clinical depression is too general and is “causing widespread medicalization.”

    Spence also points out that antidepressant prescriptions in the U.K. rose to 46 million in 2011, a 9.6% increase. He questions the view that depression is a simply chemical imbalance, and believes antidepressants are becoming “a distraction from a wider debate about why we are so unhappy as a society.”

    “But even if we accept that antidepressants are effective, a Cochrane review suggests that only one in seven people actually benefits,” said Spence. “Thus millions of people are enduring at least six months of ineffective treatment.”

    On the other side of the debate, Ian Reid, a professor of Psychiatry at the University of Aberdeen, argues that the rise in antidepressant prescriptions is due to an increasing duration of treatment, rather than a rise in the number of people prescribed the medications.

    Reid dismisses most of Spences claims, pointing to a survey of doctors that shows “cautious and conservative prescribing.” He also states that there are “methodological flaws” in studies showing that antidepressants are no better than placebos for mild depression.

    “Antidepressants are but one element available in the treatment of depression, not a panacea,” said Reid. “Like ‘talking treatments’ (with which antidepressants are entirely compatible), they can have harmful side effects, and they certainly don’t help everyone with the disorder. But they are not overprescribed. Careless reportage has demonized them in the public eye, adding to the stigmatisation of mental illness, and erecting unnecessary barriers to effective care.”

  • Antidepressants Could Be the Future For Teens With a Certain Biomarker

    A new study has discovered a cognitive biomarker in teens that could identify those who are at high risk for future depression and anxiety. The marker may appear prior to the symptoms of depression and anxiety, and researchers believe a test for the biomarker could be used as an inexpensive way to screen adolescents for common emotional mental illnesses.

    The study, published this week in the journal PLOS ONE, looked at 15 to 18 year olds who underwent genetic testing and environmental assessment. The were then given a computer test to gauge how they process emotional information. The test used words such as “joyful” and “failure” and had participants rate them as positive, negative, or neutral.

    “Whether we succumb to anxiety and depression depends in part on our tendencies to think well or poorly of ourselves at troubled times,” said Dr. Ian Goodyer, co-author of the study and professor at the University of Cambridge. “How it comes about that some people see the ‘glass half full’ and think positively whereas other see the ‘glass half empty’ and think negatively about themselves at times of stress is not known.”

    Study participants with a variation of a specific gene, exposure to intermittent family arguments for longer than six months, and violence between their parents before the age of six had more difficulty evaluating the emotion within words in the computer test. The researchers point to previous research, which associates a “maladjusted perception and response to emotions” with an increased risk of depression and anxiety.

    “The evidence is that both our genes and our early childhood experiences contribute to such personal thinking styles,” said Goodyer. “Before there are any clinical symptoms of depression or anxiety, this test reveals a deficient ability to efficiently and effectively perceive emotion processes in some teenagers – a biomarker for low resilience which may lead to mental illnesses.”

    The researchers hope the study could lead to an inexpensive cognitive test to screen for emotional mental illness in high school students who are at genetic risk for the illnesses.

    “Having difficulty in processing emotions is likely to contribute to misunderstanding other people’s intentions and can make individuals emotionally vulnerable,” said Dr. Matthew Owens, lead author of the study and a researcher at the University of Cambridge. “This research opens up the possibility of identifying individuals at greatest risk and helping them with techniques to process emotions more easily or training them to respond more adaptively to negative feedback.”

  • Antidepressants Too Risky For Pregnancies, Shows Study

    Usage of common antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) should only be prescribed with “great caution” and counseling for women who are trying to get pregnant. This finding comes from a new study published this week in the journal Human Reproduction that shows SSRIs carry an “elevated” risk of miscarriage, preterm birth, neonatal health complication, and “longer term neurobehavioral abnormalities, including autism.

    “Depression and infertility are two complicated conditions that more often than not go hand in hand,” said Dr. Alice Domar, lead author of the study and OB/GYN at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. “And there are no definitive guidelines for treatment. We hope to provide a useful analysis of available data to better inform decisions made by women and the providers who care for them.”

    Domar’s study is a review of other published studies that evaluate women with depressive symptoms who took SSRIs while pregnant. The researchers found that antidepressant usage has increased 400% over the past 20 years, particularly for those between ages 18 and 44 – childbearing age for women. For women undergoing fertility treatments, they found no evidence of improved pregnancy outcomes with antidepressant use, but “mounting evidence” that SSRIs decrease pregnancy rates for these women. In addition, long-term SSRI exposure “appears” to correspond with an increase in the risk for early delivery, low birth weight, and Newborn Behavioral Syndrome.

    “There are three main points that stand out from our review of the scientific studies on this topic,” said Dr. Adam Urato, chairman of OB/GYN at MetroWest Medical Center. “First, there is clear and concerning evidence of risk with the use of the SSRI antidepressants by pregnant women, evidence that these drugs lead to worsened pregnancy outcomes. Second, there is no evidence of benefit, no evidence that these drugs lead to better outcomes for moms and babies. And third, we feel strongly that patients, obstetrical providers, and the public need to be fully aware of this information.”