Millions of Patients Should Never be Prescribed Antidepressants, Scientists Say

Roughly half the population should never be prescribed antidepressant drugs because they are only likely to become more depressed, according to a new study conducted by researchers from Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute and published in the journal Neuron.

Scientists have known for some time that antidepressant drugs only work in about half of patients. Research has discovered that although the drugs are designed to raise circulating levels of the neurotransmitter chemical serotonin in the brain, they actually produce the opposite effect in large numbers of people.

"The more antidepressants try to increase serotonin production, the less serotonin [they] actually produce," researcher Rene Hen said.'

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