Study suggests common painkillers inhibit effectiveness of antidepressants, but do antidepressants work at all?

Thursday, April 28, 2011 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: painkillers, antidepressants, health news

(NaturalNews) A new report put forth by researchers from The Rockefeller University (RU) in New York City suggests that combining selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) like Prozac and Zoloft, with popular over-the-counter painkillers like aspirin and ibuprofen, can effectively weaken or negate the alleged benefits of SSRIs on patients. However, based on numerous studies involving antidepressants, there really is no solid evidence that SSRIs do anything at all for many patients other than induce harmful side effects.

Published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the RU study tested the effects of SSRIs on rats, both with and without the co-administration of OTC painkillers. Lead author Jennifer Warner-Schmidt and her colleagues noted that 54 percent of rats given only SSRIs responded to the treatment, while only 40 percent of those given both SSRIs and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) responded to treatment.

"In one study, we found that anyone who reported use of an anti-inflammatory or analgesic agent had a much poorer treatment outcome compared to people who didn't report any use of NSAIDs," said Warner-Schmidt to US News & World Report.

But the real question is whether or not the "responses" observed actually indicate any sort of real improvement in patients. Last summer, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania found that for most people with depression, SSRIs are virtually useless. That particular study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (https://www.naturalnews.com/028498_antidepres...).

Additionally, many of the earliest studies that have been used as proof that SSRIs work were later exposed as having been manipulated by drug companies. Studies that showed SSRIs to be not-so-useful, in other words, were largely buried and covered up by Big Pharma in order to create the illusion that SSRIs are beneficial, when they actually are not (http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/obsessiv...).

Be sure to check out the NaturalNews.com archive of articles on SSRIs, and the many severe side effects caused by their use: https://www.naturalnews.com/SSRI.html

Editor's Note: NaturalNews is strongly against the use of all forms of animal testing. We fully support implementation of humane medical experimentation that promotes the health and well-being of all living creatures.

Sources for this story include:

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-...