抗抑郁药可治疗老年情绪低落
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 27 (HealthSCOUT) -- Seniors suffering from low spirits can get a lift from antidepressants, says a new study.
The study of patients with long-term, moderate or minor depression finds that medication generally is better than problem-solving psychotherapy or no treatment at all.
Experts say the work should be welcome news for primary-care physicians who have clear-cut options for patients with severe depression but have trouble treating those with less dire mood problems.
, http://www.100md.com
"There are treatments, including both medications and psychotherapy, that can help people who have clinical (major) depression," says lead study author Dr. John Williams Jr., a psychiatrist at the University of Texas. The findings appears in today's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
The latest study compared Paxil, SmithKline Beecham's version of the drug paroxetine, with psychotherapy, known as Problem-Solving Treatment-Primary Care (PST-PC), and no treatment. In PST-PC, doctors help patients shrink big problems -- such as a fizzling marriage --into manageable obstacles.
, http://www.100md.com
The three-year study included 415 men and women, age 60 and over, in four primary care settings across the country. Of those, 338, or 81 percent, attended enough treatment sessions during the 11-week trial to be counted in the analysis.
The study found patients on Paxil made the biggest gains, particularly those with severe mood trouble. PST-PC, on the other hand, proved no better than no treatment. However, PST-PC did become more effective as the study progressed, though its benefits varied significantly.
, http://www.100md.com
Williams says the study compared Paxil to a watered-down form of PST-PC that offered patients fewer and shorter sessions than normal.
Conventional PST-PC, as well as other forms of psychotherapy, should be more effective, he says. Other antidepressants that compete with Paxil should also work, he says.
"The really interesting area is how to take the treatments and employ them better in regular, routine care. That turns out to be a big challenge," he says.
, http://www.100md.com
Williams and his colleagues are now looking at ways to improve primary-care delivery of mental health services. In one study, the role of screening patients for emotional problems has been turned over to specially trained nurses, who educate patients about depression. This is showing early promise, he says.
Dr. Joseph Gallo, a family medicine specialist at the University of Pennsylvania, says effective mental health treatment in a primary-care setting is crucial because "that's where [depressed] people are."
Gallo, co-author of an editorial accompanying the JAMA article, says the study is a much-needed first step in addressing primary care as a place to treat depressed elderly patients, who are often excluded from clinical studies of mood disorders., 百拇医药
The study of patients with long-term, moderate or minor depression finds that medication generally is better than problem-solving psychotherapy or no treatment at all.
Experts say the work should be welcome news for primary-care physicians who have clear-cut options for patients with severe depression but have trouble treating those with less dire mood problems.
, http://www.100md.com
"There are treatments, including both medications and psychotherapy, that can help people who have clinical (major) depression," says lead study author Dr. John Williams Jr., a psychiatrist at the University of Texas. The findings appears in today's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
The latest study compared Paxil, SmithKline Beecham's version of the drug paroxetine, with psychotherapy, known as Problem-Solving Treatment-Primary Care (PST-PC), and no treatment. In PST-PC, doctors help patients shrink big problems -- such as a fizzling marriage --into manageable obstacles.
, http://www.100md.com
The three-year study included 415 men and women, age 60 and over, in four primary care settings across the country. Of those, 338, or 81 percent, attended enough treatment sessions during the 11-week trial to be counted in the analysis.
The study found patients on Paxil made the biggest gains, particularly those with severe mood trouble. PST-PC, on the other hand, proved no better than no treatment. However, PST-PC did become more effective as the study progressed, though its benefits varied significantly.
, http://www.100md.com
Williams says the study compared Paxil to a watered-down form of PST-PC that offered patients fewer and shorter sessions than normal.
Conventional PST-PC, as well as other forms of psychotherapy, should be more effective, he says. Other antidepressants that compete with Paxil should also work, he says.
"The really interesting area is how to take the treatments and employ them better in regular, routine care. That turns out to be a big challenge," he says.
, http://www.100md.com
Williams and his colleagues are now looking at ways to improve primary-care delivery of mental health services. In one study, the role of screening patients for emotional problems has been turned over to specially trained nurses, who educate patients about depression. This is showing early promise, he says.
Dr. Joseph Gallo, a family medicine specialist at the University of Pennsylvania, says effective mental health treatment in a primary-care setting is crucial because "that's where [depressed] people are."
Gallo, co-author of an editorial accompanying the JAMA article, says the study is a much-needed first step in addressing primary care as a place to treat depressed elderly patients, who are often excluded from clinical studies of mood disorders., 百拇医药
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