Thursday, November 6, 2014

Analgesics, anti-inflammatory drugs have beneficial effect on treatment of depression

Analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs used against muscle pain and arthritis may have a beneficial effect on depression symptoms....

Ordinary over the counter painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs purchased from pharmacies may also be effective in the treatment of people suffering of depression.

This is shown by the largest ever meta-analysis that has just been published by a research group from Aarhus University in the American scientific journal JAMA Psychiatry. The meta-analysis is based on 14 international studies with a total 6,262 patients who either suffered from depression or had individual symptoms of depression.

Up to 15 per cent of the Danish population can expect to suffer from depression at some point in their lives. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that depression is one of the top five reasons for loss of quality of life and also life years. Thus, it is a very serious condition, one where researchers all over the world are constantly trying to find more effective treatments.
In recent years research has demonstrated a correlation between depression and physical illnesses, such as painful conditions or infections in the individual patient.

"The meta-analysis supports this correlation and also demonstrates that anti-inflammatory medication in combination with antidepressants can have an effect on the treatment of depression. When combined they give an important result which, in the long term, strengthens the possibility of being able to provide the individual patient with more personalized treatment options," says MD-student Ole Köhler, who is first author of the scientific article and a member of the research group from Aarhus University.


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