An analysis of randomised trials indicates that the benefit of antidepressant medications varies with the severity of depressive symptoms, and may provide little benefit for patients with mild or moderate Depression.
However, they do appear to provide substantial benefit for patients with very severe Depression.

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The Information  and Services division of the NHS have revealed that one in ten adults are now taking medication every day to combat Depression.
Since 1999-09 the number of drugs being prescribed by GPs in Scotland has increased from 2.5 million to 4 million items. This is despite an SNP manifesto to cut the use of antidepressant drugs [...]

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Antidepressants can help mild to moderate depression and should not just be used in bad cases, researchers in England say.

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Research at the Univesity of North Dakota in the USA have found that, out of 60 people who were tested on a driving stimulation, those on high-dose anti-depressants had poorer driving skills. The participants were put through a test that recreated a series of driving situations such as reacting to brake [...]

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It has been hard to escape anti-depressants in the news recently. There has been much made in the media of the publication of an analysis of previously unpublished research, which seems to show that drugs like Prozac, Seroxat and Efexor were no better than placebos – tablets with no active ingredients. But what do these [...]

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The new Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, claims that Britain is facing a crisis in mental health care.   He has warned the over-use of pills and poor mental health services are failing the public.   If elected, the Lib Dems pledge treatment within 13 weeks and if that target was missed patients would have the right [...]

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An Aberdeen  business man, Stuart Ebdy, wants to sue GlaxoSmithKline for £50,000. He is one of several hundred people planning to take legal action against GSK over its antidepressant Seroxat, also known as Paroxetine.

Aberdeenshire News 30/01/08

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Research examining  2,876 adults who were in treatment for depression in 41 different treatment centres across the U.S. found that those who had clinically significant anxiety as well responded less well to anti-depressant treatment.
PsychCentral.net 04/01/08

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Over the next three years, £270m will be spent on making sure that, by 2012, no patient in Scotland is waiting longer than 18 weeks from GP referral to treatment for routine conditions. A further £97m will fund a gradual phasing out of prescription charges.   There was no mention in Finance Secretary John Swinney’s speech [...]

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The number of prescriptions for antidepressants rose four-fold in Scotland between 1992 and 2006 despite government efforts to cut the number of prescriptions. 
 A report by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (QIS) found that the number of prescribed daily doses of the drugs had gone up from 19 per thousand to 85 between 1992 and 2006.
Mental health charities [...]

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