Our systematic review in BMC Psychiatry concluded that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors ( SSRIs ) compared with placebo significantly increase the risk of serious adverse events ( SAEs ) in patients with major depression and the potential beneficial effects of SSRIs seem to be outweighed by the harms .
In their post-hoc analysis of our data , they reported that SSRIs only increase the risk of SAEs in elderly and seems safe for non-elderly patients .
A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial combining sertraline and naltrexone for treating co-occurring depression and alcohol dependence.
OBJECTIVE Empirical evidence has only weakly supported antidepressant treatment for patients with co-occurring depression and alcohol dependence . While some studies have demonstrated that antidepressants reduce depressive symptoms in individuals with depression and alcohol dependence , most studies have not found antidepressant treatment helpful in reducing excessive drinking in these patients . The authors provide results from a double-blind , placebo-controlled trial that evaluated the efficacy of combining approved medications for depression ( sertraline ) and alcohol dependence ( naltrexone ) in treating patients with both disorders . METHOD A total of 170 depressed alcohol-dependent patients were r and omly assigned to receive 14 weeks of treatment with sertraline ( 200 mg/day [ N=40 ] ) , naltrexone ( 100 mg/day [ N=49 ] ) , the combination of sertraline plus naltrexone ( N=42 ) , or double placebo ( N=39 ) while receiving weekly cognitive-behavioral therapy . RESULTS The sertraline plus naltrexone combination produced a higher alcohol abstinence rate ( 53.7 % ) and demonstrated a longer delay before relapse to heavy drinking ( median delay=98 days ) than the naltrexone ( abstinence rate : 21.3 % ; delay=29 days ) , sertraline ( abstinence rate : 27.5 % ; delay=23 days ) , and placebo ( abstinence rate : 23.1 % ; delay=26 days ) groups . The number of patients in the medication combination group not depressed by the end of treatment ( 83.3 % ) approached significance when compared with patients in the other treatment groups . The serious adverse event rate was 25.9 % , with fewer reported with the medication combination ( 11.9 % ) than the other treatments . CONCLUSIONS More depressed alcohol-dependent patients receiving the sertraline plus naltrexone combination achieved abstinence from alcohol , had delayed relapse to heavy drinking , reported fewer serious adverse events , and tended to not be depressed by the end of treatment
Our systematic review in BMC Psychiatry concluded that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors ( SSRIs ) compared with placebo significantly increase the risk of serious adverse events ( SAEs ) in patients with major depression and the potential beneficial effects of SSRIs seem to be outweighed by the harms .
In their post-hoc analysis of our data , they reported that SSRIs only increase the risk of SAEs in elderly and seems safe for non-elderly patients .