02-19-19 Irving Kirsch - Placebos-Antidepressants L. Lerner CRISPR-Society

Presentations:

Irving Kirsch, PhD: "The Emperor’s New Drugs": Antidepressants and the placebo effect"

Abstract:

Antidepressants are supposed to work by fixing a chemical imbalance, specifically, a lack of serotonin or norepinephrine in the brain. However, analyses of the published and the unpublished data that were hidden by the drug companies reveal that most (if not all) of the benefits are due to the placebo effect, and the difference in improvement between drug and placebo is not clinically meaningful. Some antidepressants increase serotonin levels, some decrease serotonin, and some have no effect at all on serotonin. Nevertheless, they all show approximately the same therapeutic benefit. Instead of curing depression, popular antidepressants may induce a biological vulnerability making people more likely to become depressed in the future. Other treatments (e.g., psychotherapy and physical exercise) produce the same short-term benefits as antidepressants, show better long-term effectiveness, and do so without the side effects and health risks of the drugs.

Bio:

Irving Kirsch is Associate Director of the Program in Placebo Studies and a lecturer in medicine at the Harvard Medical School (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center). He is also Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of Hull (UK) and the University of Connecticut (USA), and a visiting professor at Plymouth University (UK). He has published 10 books, more than 250 scientific journal articles and 40 book chapters on placebo effects, antidepressant medication, hypnosis, and suggestion. He originated the concept of response expectancy. His 2002 meta-analysis on the efficacy of antidepressants influenced official guidelines for the treatment of depression in the United Kingdom. His 2008 meta-analysis was covered extensively in the international media and listed by the British Psychological Society as one of the “10 most controversial psychology studies ever published.” His book, "The Emperor’s New Drugs": Exploding the Antidepressant Myth, has been published in English, French, Italian, Japanese, Turkish, and Polish, and was shortlisted for the prestigious Mind Book of the Year award. It was the topic of 60 Minutes segment on CBS and a 5-page cover story in Newsweek. In 2015, the University of Basel (Switzerland) awarded Irving Kirsch an Honorary Doctorate in Psychology.

Abstract:

Antidepressants are supposed to work by fixing a chemical imbalance, specifically, a lack of serotonin or norepinephrine in the brain. However, analyses of the published and the unpublished data that were hidden by the drug companies reveal that most (if not all) of the benefits are due to the placebo effect, and the difference in improvement between drug and placebo is not clinically meaningful. Some antidepressants increase serotonin levels, some decrease serotonin, and some have no effect at all on serotonin. Nevertheless, they all show approximately the same therapeutic benefit. Instead of curing depression, popular antidepressants may induce a biological vulnerability making people more likely to become depressed in the future. Other treatments (e.g., psychotherapy and physical exercise) produce the same short-term benefits as antidepressants, show better long-term effectiveness, and do so without the side effects and health risks of the drugs.

Rob Lerner: TED talk by Juan Enriquez on CRISPR—not on what it is, but what it could mean for society.

Location & Time: Tuesdays, 11:30am to 1:30pm