"Despite recent debate about how well antidepressants really work in people with only mild or moderate depression a new analysis of drug studies suggests they may have some benefit across the board.  Researchers found that more patients taking Prozac or Effexor had a substantial improvement in their symptoms than those taking a drugfree placebo pill regardless of how severe those symptoms were to begin with.  The idea that unless youre very very ill youre not going to benefit from treatment does not appear to stand up when looking closely said the studys lead author Robert Gibbons from the University of Chicago.  Still not everyone in the studies improved  on average about five people had to be treated with one of the drugs for one person to feel better and the benefits seemed to be diminished among some of the oldest patients.  Whats more one researcher not involved in the study said its findings still dont mean the drugs are any better than nondrug methods of treating depression such as talk therapy and being more physically active.  For their analysis Gibbons and his colleagues looked at outcomes for each individual patient in published and unpublished trials testing the effects of six weeks of treatment with antidepressants versus placebo pills. Most of those trials were funded and run by the pharmaceutical companies that manufacture Prozac and Effexor  Eli Lilly and Wyeth respectively.  They included  studies of Prozac in adults and four each in elderly patients and youth as well as  trials of immediate or extendedrelease Effexor in adults. About  participants were included.  More adults and kids taking Prozac known generically as fluoxetine had at least a  percent improvement in scores on depression tests after six weeks compared to those assigned to take a placebo pill.  Fiftyfive percent of adults on Prozac responded to treatment compared to  percent in the placebo group. In youth  percent on Prozac had significant symptom improvement compared to just six percent of the comparisons.  The benefits were seen regardless of how severe patients symptoms were before starting treatment.  However in the elderly the differences between the treatment and placebo groups were much smaller and the researchers calculated that  older patients would have to be treated with Prozac for one to gain from it.  Clearly the efficacy of antidepressants is agedependent and largest most interestingly in youth which I dont think would be the mainstream view in psychiatry Gibbons told Reuters Health.  Sponsored The findings he added raise other questions that need to be followed up including whats going on in the elderly  Both types of Effexor or venlafaxine also seemed to help adults with mild to severe depression with slightly more patients responding to the immediaterelease dose.  Some of the studys authors have testified for or received funding from drug companies though the report itself was funded by national health agencies.  The researchers said they couldnt be sure there would be similar improvements with other types of antidepressants  especially given the more limited data in kids and the elderly  or that the longerterm benefits would be as clear.  One recent study suggested that up to a fifth of patients on the antidepressant Cymbalta duloxetine might actually benefit more from placebo pills see Reuters Health story of December  .  Irving Kirsch who studies antidepressants and placebos at Harvard Medical School in Boston said the new report didnt make him more optimistic about the drugs.  If five or more patients need to be treated with an antidepressant for one to substantially improve most dont get much out of it he pointed out.  More than  percent of the patients are not getting a significant benefit from the drug  either theyre not getting better or they would get the same benefit with placebo he told Reuters Health.  There are alternative treatments for depression that also produce about the same symptom reduction as the drugs do but without the risk of side effects Kirsch added including psychotherapy and exercise.  Still Gibbons said that the improvement in symptoms for the average patient wasnt insignificant.  Definitely it doesnt look like antidepressants are placebos he concluded.  SOURCE bit.lyAaNJqw httpbit.lyAaNJqw Archives of General Psychiatry online March  . Our StandardsThe Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. httpthomsonreuters.comenaboutustrustprinciples.html"