Cohen on Weighing the Benefit of Antidepressants
A Los Angeles Times column about the difficulty of coming off antidepressants quoted Social Welfare Professor David Cohen, whose research focuses on psychoactive drugs. The column noted that the number of Americans age 12 and over who use antidepressants has tripled over the last two decades. For some patients, ongoing treatment is the best option for a functional life. Others may opt to wean themselves from the drugs, which must be done with care to prevent severe withdrawal symptoms. “Users themselves must decide about meds’ helpfulness in their own lives,” said Cohen, who is associate dean for research and faculty development at UCLA Luskin. Two recent studies by Cohen looked at clinical trials funded by the pharmaceutical industry that appeared to misinterpret withdrawal symptoms as relapse, bolstering the case for staying on the medications and raising questions about the reliability of the trials.
