The effectiveness of over a dozen popular antidepressants is under scrutiny after a review of research submitted by the FDA has revealed that the efficacy of these drugs appears to have been exaggerated by selective publication of positive research findings.
According to a review of unpublished data submitted to the Food and Drug Administration, favorable results about the drugs' benefits were selectively published while negative or questionable results went unpublished.
A review of research submitted to the FDA revealed that, of 74 studies reviewed, only 38 were judged to be positive by the FDA. All but one of the positive studies were published, while most of the studies showing negative or questionable results were not published, researchers found.
As a result, doctors and patients are getting a distorted view of how well blockbuster antidepressants like Wyeth's Effexor and Pfizer Inc.'s Zoloft really work, researchers asserted in this week's New England Journal of Medicine. Since the overwhelming amount of published data on the drugs show they are effective, doctors unaware of the unpublished data are making inappropriate prescribing decisions that aren't in the best interest of their patients, according to researchers.
The Study:
Selective Publication of Antidepressant Trials and Its Influence on Apparent Efficacy
Erick H. Turner, M.D., Annette M. Matthews, M.D., Eftihia Linardatos, B.S., Robert A. Tell, L.C.S.W., and Robert Rosenthal, Ph.D.
New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 358:252-260, January 17, 2008 Number 3
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