Mon.Dec 25, 2023

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Placebo Effect—Not Antidepressants—Responsible for Depression Improvement

Mad in America

In a study of fluoxetine (Prozac) for adolescents, researchers found that the placebo effect predicted good outcomes, but the actual drug treatment did not. After accounting for “treatment guess” (those who figured out that they were receiving an intervention rather than placebo), the drug was not effective in depression treatment. In fact, those who received a placebo but thought they received Prozac improved more than those who received the drug and knew it.

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Much of U.S. Healthcare Is Broken: How to Fix It (Chapter 2, Part 1)

Mad in America

Editor’s Note: Over the next several months, Mad in America is publishing a serialized version of Les Ruthven’s book, Much of U.S. Healthcare is Broken: How to Fix It. In this blog, he begins a discussion on depression and antidepressant drugs. Are they as effective and safe as psychiatry claims? Each Monday, a new section of the book is published, and all chapters are archived here.