Antidepressant drugs linked to dementia

NEWS

A new study suggests that patients taking antidepressant drugs may be at high risk of developing dementia.

COMMENT

Stakeholders for the pharma industry invariably claim that the benefits of prescribed drugs always outweigh the risks. Not surprisingly, therefore, as soon as this story hit the news, pro-pharma interviewees were sent out in force to speak to the media and warn patients against stopping taking the antidepressant drugs cited in the study.

What these stakeholders didn’t admit in their media appearances, however, is that antidepressants are also associated with a significantly elevated risk of death; that depressed patients treated with antidepressants have been found to do worse in the long run; and that there is even a disturbing link between antidepressant drugs and homicide. Such studies illustrate a key point that we’ve made many times before on these pages, namely, that there really is no such thing as a ‘safe drug’.

In contrast, despite the claims of conventional medicine that there are no effective alternative treatments available for depression, this is far from being the case. Not only do we know that depression is linked to reduced levels of micronutrients, including a deficiency of B vitamins, research clearly shows magnesium supplements may be an alternative to antidepressant drugs and that omega-3 supplements can help treat even major depression.