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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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Posted by Netch on March 12, 2012, at 11:53:16
A Harvard scientist says the drugs used to treat depression are effective, but for many, it's not the active ingredient that's making people feel better. It's the placebo effect.
Does a chemical imbalance cause depression?
For decades, doctors have linked depression to a chemical imbalance in the brain, but psychiatrist Dr. Walter Brown says this theory needs to be reexamined.
Why antidepressants are widely prescribed?
"I think the problem in psychiatry is...we don't have a lot of tools" to treat depression, says Dr. Walter Brown, and therefore antidepressants become a default treatment.
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7399362n
Posted by Phillipa on March 12, 2012, at 16:17:38
In reply to Treating Depression: Is there a placebo effect?, posted by Netch on March 12, 2012, at 11:53:16
Interesting will read full text a bit later. Phillipa
Posted by JohnLA on March 13, 2012, at 20:13:35
In reply to Treating Depression: Is there a placebo effect?, posted by Netch on March 12, 2012, at 11:53:16
thanks for posting this netch-
after watching this, it makes me want to ditch my meds. are we all just fools for taking these meds w/out really knowing what they do?
curious as to what other babblers will have to say.
as for me, i have yet to have a response from several meds. i'd settle for the placebo effect!
psychiatry really is in it's early stages and is just beginning to scratch the surface of what may work or not. also, when the doctors themselves can't agree it's a bummer for us patients.
and, since when did the british have better teeth than us americans?! ;)
Posted by SLS on March 14, 2012, at 1:10:24
In reply to Treating Depression: Is there a placebo effect?, posted by Netch on March 12, 2012, at 11:53:16
> Does a chemical imbalance cause depression?
> For decades, doctors have linked depression to a chemical imbalance in the brain, but psychiatrist Dr. Walter Brown says this theory needs to be reexamined.
Depression might involve more than a simple and singular chemical imbalance, so this theory is no longer universally accepted as being accurate. That's all that is being said here. MDD is no less biological. However, it is just more complex than originally thought.
"Dr. Walter Brown of Brown Medical School also appeared on the 60 Minutes segment. He said that he and many of his colleagues in the field of psychiatry are challenging the theory that depression is caused by low levels of the chemical seratonin in the brain. 'Experts in the field believe that theory is a gross oversimplification and probably is not correct.'"
- Psychology Today: February 21, 2012, Marilyn Wedge, Ph.D.
The whole placebo response thing is also somewhat complex, and deserves more careful consideration than just saying that it exists.
- Scott
Posted by Netch on March 14, 2012, at 17:49:16
In reply to Re: Treating Depression: Is there a placebo effect?, posted by JohnLA on March 13, 2012, at 20:13:35
> thanks for posting this netch-
>
> after watching this, it makes me want to ditch my meds. are we all just fools for taking these meds w/out really knowing what they do?
>
> curious as to what other babblers will have to say.
>
> as for me, i have yet to have a response from several meds. i'd settle for the placebo effect!
>
> psychiatry really is in it's early stages and is just beginning to scratch the surface of what may work or not. also, when the doctors themselves can't agree it's a bummer for us patients.
>
> and, since when did the british have better teeth than us americans?! ;)LOL. americans in general have cosmetically whiter teeth but I'm not convinced it's due to healthier dental status.
This is the end of the thread.
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