According to a recent study published in the New England
Journal of Medicine, antidepressants are far less effective than doctors have
been led to believe. “That's because 88% of clinical trials that showed that the
drugs did not work either were not published in medical journals or were
presented as positive findings.” This deceptive practice gave doctors too rosy a
picture about the value of antidepressants.
The researchers examined the studies that drug companies submitted to the Food
and Drug Administration when they were seeking regulatory approval. “All but one
of the 38 positive studies given to the FDA were published, but most of the
negative ones didn't make it into print.”
The suppressed information might tip the scales against prescribing the drugs in
borderline cases and in the cases of youth and children where some drugs (Paxil)
could increase the risk of having suicidal thoughts or attempting suicide.
This study exposes an ethical problem – quick profit for the drug manufacturers
without due care for the long term health and welfare of people. While modern
science has improved man's understanding of the material world and alleviated
many illnesses, its conclusions are not all infallible, nor its knowledge
unlimited. Medicine is an art and a science whose time has come to re-examine
its deep roots, looking to the future concerned not only with the treatment of
symptoms but the addressing of causes. The need for a strong moral component to
compliment our technical and scientific endeavours calls loudly to us.
