Sertraline

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A commonly prescribed antidepressant reduces anxiety first, and has a smaller effect on depressive Symptoms weeks later, a study suggests.

the researchers at University College London, said that people feel better, but also worked in an unexpected way.

their study involved 653 UK patients, half of them were given Sertraline , and The Other half a placebo (dummy pill).

psychiatrists say, the results are reassuring for doctors and patients confirm the benefits of treatment.

antidepressants are one of The Most frequently prescribed medications in the United Kingdom and concerns, voiced often, that too many of them given to the patients.

Sertraline is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), is one of The Most commonly used drugs for the treatment of Symptoms of depression and anxiety.

But scientists still have little idea of how these drugs work.

Quick fixes

patients with mild-to-severe depressive Symptoms or anxiety, or a mixture of both, which were selected from 179 GP surgeries in the UK and enrolled in the study.

In all cases, GPs were not sure whether an anti-depressant to prescribe.

After Six Weeks , the reported patients taking Sertraline , a 21% greater improvement in anxiety Symptoms - worried about how the feeling of being nervous and irritable - in comparison to the control group a dummy pill. After 12 weeks, the lead to 23% was.

But there was little evidence that the drug is a reduction in the depressive Symptoms such as poor concentration, bad mood and lack of enjoyment after Six Weeks , and the only marginal improvements (13%) after 12 weeks.

Still, The Group , the antidepressants were twice as likely as The Other study participants that their Mental Health felt better overall.

"It seems that the people who are on the drug, feel less anxious, so that you feel better overall, even if their depressive Symptoms were less affected," said lead study author Dr. Gemma Lewis, from UCL.

She Said the results suggest zoloft and similar antidepressants are used properly, could benefit by GPs and more patients with mild to moderate Symptoms of them.

Unexpected discovery of

Professor Glyn Lewis, also part of the study, said he was surprised by the results of the study.

"they [antidepressants] work, only in a different way than we had expected," he said.

"We definitely need better treatments for depression, and more research, but they are effective drugs. "

The study also found there was little evidence of side effects in The Group taking Sertraline .

the increase in the concentration of serotonin in The Brain .

Dr. Sameer Jauhar, honorary consultant psychiatrist, King's College London, said that the study reflected positive results probably why GPs antidepressants to prescribe.

But he said they were not relevant for people with depression.

"It is not surprising that depressive Symptoms do not improve, to a large extent, that only half of the people had a diagnosis of depression. "

'Not for anyone'

Prof Wendy Burn, President of The Royal College of psychiatrists, said the results were "reassuring for both physicians and patients".

But she added: "It also shows that antidepressants are The Solution for all and strengthens the importance of the combination with other options, such as talk therapies and social prescribing. "

Prof Helen Stokes-Lampard, Chairman of The Royal College of GPs, said antidepressants best work ", if you for a longer period of time, that is the reason why doctors often check the patient after several weeks of use And Then quite a long course of prescribe medication, if they seem to be useful".

"This study provides an interesting insight into how a drug primarily used to treat depression to treat, can improve the health of the patient in other ways in the short and medium term, by reducing the Symptoms of anxiety, often in connection with depression. "

previous research found that, but it's not based on patients ' individual views on how they felt.

The study is the largest placebo-controlled trial with an antidepressant, which was not funded, the said of the pharmaceutical industry, the UCL researchers.

depression, mental health, anxiety

Source of news: bbc.com