Webcomics and Mental Health
I came across a recent video looking at anxiety and drugs by the makers of penny arcade. Penny arcade is a webcomic, mostly revolving around computer gaming. The authors, Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik were recently named in the time 100. It’s a sizable video, so apologies for people on slower internet connections, but I found it to be a particularly interesting look at mental illness. I...
Read MorePredicting anti-depressant response
Anti-depressant drugs can be one way to deal with depression. One issue with anti-depressants is that there is not one anti-depressant that is effective for everyone. While many may find relief with the first anti-depressant, others need to ‘shop around’ for the right anti-depressant, and still others don’t find one that works for them. Add to this the delay – a number of...
Read MoreSt John’s Wort
The Irish Times has an article on St John’s Wort. St John’s Wort is a herbal remedy that has been quite popular in the treatment of depression. Interestingly, in some countries, for example Ireland and Germany, preparations of St John’s Wort are prescribed by Doctors to treat mild depression. In Germany, St John’s Wort extracts are prescribed more than other...
Read MoreWho do Anti-depressants work for?
A recent study (cited here) questions whether drug trials assessing antidepressants relate to the people who actually use them. Such trials often involve individuals with more severe depression, who don’t have any other comorbidities. The problem is this isn’t often who the drugs end up getting prescribed for: After assessing 2,855 patients treated with citalopram, a commonly...
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