Essay on the essential facts extracted from publications concerning the debate on the efficacy of anti-depressants

Abstract

In 2009 Irving Kirsch sent shockwaves through the scientific, pharmaceutical and wider health care community by publishing his work on the effectiveness of antidepressants. His study claimed that antidepressants comprise little more than active placebos, and suggested that the conscious concealing of that fact was the “dirty little secret” of the pharmaceutical companies. Since, the antidepressant efficacy is the object of heated debates. These debates take place on many different levels: clinical trials which compare antidepressant efficacy to placebo (with their focus relative efficacy, or on methodological issues), research and theories either trying to explain antidepressant efficacy (trough biological and cognitive mechanisms) or its inefficacy, focus on risks and adverse effects, focus on long term effects, etc. This paper aims to provide an overview of the current state of the antidepressant efficacy debate.