4 ms·

Yes, which, by itself, would not be a problem (of course, you would need to watch closely for conflicts of interest clouding the issue). No, the real problem is

Yes, which, by itself, would not be a problem (of course, you would need to watch closely for conflicts of interest clouding the issue). No, the real problem is that the drug companies do not have to release all of the data associated with the trials they perform. They don't even have to publish all of the trials they perform. Given that, I have a very hard time trusting any drug that does not show amazingly stellar clinical trial results. If you have the options of cherry picking what you publish, and your drug only "helps" 50% of the participants, I see that as random noise. Ben Goldacre[1] is trying to shine a spotlight on this, and is doing a pretty good job. His Ted Talk[2] is well worth watching. 1. http://www.badscience.net/ http://www.badscience.net/ 2. http://www.ted.com/talks/ben_goldacre_battling_bad_science http://www.ted.com/talks/ben_goldacre_battling_bad_science

DanBC 11y ago
Depression probably isn't a single illness, and so it's not surprising that meds don't work for everyone. We've recently discovered genetic differences in medication efficiency - at some point in the future you'd have a genetic test that would tell you that meds A, B, and C probably aren't going to work for you. (Except by then we'll probably have better meds and better access to better talking therapies.) These genetic differences were not known at the time of the drug trials. I totally agree with you about the problems of drug research and drug companies cherry picking which data to release. Goldacre's books are good.
- Osiris 11y ago
  This is already true. Both my wife and I had genetic tests done that showed which medications were likely to be more or less effective. In my wife's case it was a deficiency in an enzyme to break down folic acid and nothing to do with serotonin levels. Without the genetic test she'd still be taking the wrong medications.
  - porker 11y ago
    I didn't realise genetic testing like this was possible - it seems unknown in the UK (esp in the NHS). Can you share more details?
    - Osiris 11y ago
      here's one: http://genomind.com/ http://genomind.com/ Basically they give you a report of your genetic variations and how those relate to different medications or treatments.

DanBC 11y ago

Depression probably isn't a single illness, and so it's not surprising that meds don't work for everyone. We've recently discovered genetic differences in medication efficiency - at some point in the future you'd have a genetic test that would tell you that meds A, B, and C probably aren't going to work for you. (Except by then we'll probably have better meds and better access to better talking therapies.) These genetic differences were not known at the time of the drug trials. I totally agree with you about the problems of drug research and drug companies cherry picking which data to release. Goldacre's books are good.

Osiris 11y ago
This is already true. Both my wife and I had genetic tests done that showed which medications were likely to be more or less effective. In my wife's case it was a deficiency in an enzyme to break down folic acid and nothing to do with serotonin levels. Without the genetic test she'd still be taking the wrong medications.
- porker 11y ago
  I didn't realise genetic testing like this was possible - it seems unknown in the UK (esp in the NHS). Can you share more details?
  - Osiris 11y ago
    here's one: http://genomind.com/ http://genomind.com/ Basically they give you a report of your genetic variations and how those relate to different medications or treatments.