antidepressants

Patients who use antidepressants can be nearly twice more susceptible to future episodes of major depression than those who struggle through melancholy without drugs, suggests the new study by McMaster University in Canada.

Study details

Researchers from the University of New South Wales, Sydney Children Hospital and colleagues in the Cochrane Library have found that selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs), the scientific name for antidepressants, come with no benefits for the autistic children.

Katrina Williams, lead author of the study, informs, "Decisions about the use of SSRIs for established clinical indications that may co-occur with autism, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression in adults or children, and anxiety in adults, should be made on a case-by-case basis.”

Researchers at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, U.S., established that a commonly used type of antidepressant called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may perk up cardiovascular health by influencing the manner in which platelets accumulate.

Platelets are cell fragments in blood involved in clotting,

Study author, Dr. Evangelos Litinas, research associate, Loyola University Medical Center was quoted by Business Week as saying, “The reason we’re doing this is to better the lives of depressed patients.”

Details of the research