Antidepressants may do more harm than good

Commonly prescribed antidepressants appear to be doing patients more harm than good, according to researchers who have published a paper examining the impact of the medications on the entire body. "We need to be much more cautious about the widespread use of these drugs," says Paul Andrews, an evolutionary biologist at McMaster University and lead author of the article. Andrews and his colleagues examined previous patient studies into the effects of antidepressants and determined that the benefits of most, compare poorly to the risks, which can even include premature death in elderly patients. What the researchers found is that antidepressants have negative health effects on all processes normally regulated by serotonin, including elevated risks for developmental problems in infants; problems with sexual stimulation, function and sperm development in men; digestive problems; abnormal bleeding; and stroke in the elderly.