“The science behind commonly used anti-depressants appears to be backwards, researchers say”
“The low-serotonin theory is the basis for commonly prescribed serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI) anti-depressant medications which keep the neurotransmitter’s levels high by blocking its re-absorption into the cells that release it.
Those serotonin-boosting medications actually make it harder for patients to recover, especially in the short term, says lead author Paul Andrews, an assistant professor of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
“It’s time we rethink what we are doing,” Andrews says. “We are taking people who are suffering from the most common forms of depression, and instead of helping them, it appears we are putting an obstacle in their path to recovery.”
When depressed patients on SSRI medication do show improvement, it appears that their brains are actually overcoming the effects of anti-depressant medications, rather than being assisted directly by them. Instead of helping, the medications appear to be interfering with the brain’s own mechanisms of recovery.”
I don’t know anything about these researchers, or how robust their findings are, but there are definitely problems with the serotonin hypothesis — I personally suspect that there are a lot of potential systems/causes that lead to a common set of downstream problems that cause depression and depressive symptoms, and so the interventions and medications have to be tailored. Except we don’t know how to measure the causes yet, or respond directly to them.
