New psychiatric drugs low priority

[jugoso]

The pharmaceutical industry has largely abandoned drug development for mental illnesses even though depression is a leading cause of disability, experts say.

Authors of papers published in this week's issue of the journal Science Translational Medicine argue that drug discovery for treating psychiatric disorders such as autism, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder anddepression are at a near standstill.

"Antipsychotics and antidepressants have been some of the most profitable agents for companies over the last two decades," said Dr. Thomas Insel, director of the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health and one of the authors.

"But that doesn't mean they're effective. What it means is that they sell and they can be marketed."

"Advances continue to be made in modes of cognitive psychotherapy and device-based psychiatric treatments; but despite the growing market opportunities, major pharmaceutical companies recently announced substantial cutbacks or complete discontinuation of efforts to discover new drugs for psychiatric disorders."

There are no drugs to target the main symptoms of autism such as social deficits and language disorder, Insel said. Those deficits often respond well to intensive behavioural treatments, which suggests there’s potential for a pharmacological approach.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/10/12/psychiatric-drugs.html

[FurthurBB]

Greaaaaat...just what we need, more drugs! Yea, this will solve all the problems, I'm sure. Since when did the world start getting so "depressed"?

Yes, we actually do need new drugs for psychiatric problem, not more drugs, because the ones we use now are only moderately effective and have extreme side effects. As far as the world getting so depressed, I think everyone goes through bouts of depression and that medication should not be given for that when therapy is much more effective. Medication should be reserved for those who have serious life-long psychiatric problems. So, in other words I think antidepressants are overprescribed. Then there is also the fact that people feel more comfortable seeking help for psychiatric problems because you do not run the risk of not being able to get a job, being shunned by your family, being put in a psychiatric facility, or having barbaric procedures performed on you. It could also have a lot to do with our modern lifestyle and unrealistic expectations.

[jugoso]

Yes, we actually do need new drugs for psychiatric problem, not more drugs, because the ones we use now are only moderately effective and have extreme side effects. As far as the world getting so depressed, I think everyone goes through bouts of depression and that medication should not be given for that when therapy is much more effective. Medication should be reserved for those who have serious life-long psychiatric problems. So, in other words I think antidepressants are overprescribed. Then there is also the fact that people feel more comfortable seeking help for psychiatric problems because you do not run the risk of not being able to get a job, being shunned by your family, being put in a psychiatric facility, or having barbaric procedures performed on you. It could also have a lot to do with our modern lifestyle and unrealistic expectations.

Great post. I agree completely with what you said. I also find it rather interesting that they are not doing more research around autism. Considering the incidences have doubled within the last 20 years and there does seem to be some evidence that pharmacological treatments may be effective, it is rather puzzling to me.

[FurthurBB]

Great post. I agree completely with what you said. I also find it rather interesting that they are not doing more research around autism. Considering the incidences have doubled within the last 20 years and there does seem to be some evidence that pharmacological treatments may be effective, it is rather puzzling to me.

Yes, I agree that more research into autism treatments are needed. Hopefully it would stop some of the quacks from talking poor parents into poisoning their children with nonsense like chelators and bleach.

[Cybele]

"Antipsychotics and antidepressants have been some of the most profitable agents for companies over the last two decades," said Dr. Thomas Insel, director of the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health and one of the authors.

"But that doesn't mean they're effective. What it means is that they sell and they can be marketed."

My personal experience with SSRIs for over a decade has led me to believe that they can, indeed, be very effective for treating anxiety and depression with few to no side effects. I suppose some people can react differently to the same drug.

Psychiatric drugs have to undergo double-blinded placebo-controlled randomized trials to demonstrate safety and efficacy before they are distributed to the general public. In light of this, I don't see how the NIMH director could say that they're not necessarily effective--though this is an extremely vague statement.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinical_trial