Health
Why Antidepressants Don't Work for Half of Patients (https://www.livescience.com/health/how-antidepressants-work-100120.html)
By Boonsri Dickinson, LiveScience Contributor
posted: 20 January 2010 11:37 am ET
Only half of depressed individuals who take antidepressants actually get a mood lift. And now scientists think they know why: A study in mice found receptors on certain brain cells essentially block the effects of these medicines.
If the same holds true in humans, the other 50 percent of depressed patients may have more effective treatment options.
"The mouse model explains why someone may not respond to antidepressants," says Rene Hen, professor of pharmacology in the Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at Columbia University.
Antidepressants are designed to increase the levels of serotonin, so that when more of the serotonin neurotransmitter is sent to other parts of the brain, the person feels relief from depression.
Hen identified a receptor, so he could replicate in mice what happens when antidepressants fail. Some of the genetically engineered mice were designed to have high levels of the receptor 1A, a type of receptor on nerve cells that produces serotonin.
By watching their behavior, Hen determined how the mice responded to the drugs. Usually when mice take antidepressants, they act more daring. However, mice with high levels of certain serotonin receptors, did not act like they were on antidepressants. Also, when high levels of the 1A type receptors were found in the brain, the mice produced less serotonin.
Next, Hen plans to conduct clinical trials in humans. In the future, psychiatrists might be able to predict if someone is a responder or non-responder to traditional antidepressants. That way drug companies can figure out new ways of relieving depression in these non-responders, Hen said.
"There are new experimental treatments now, but deep brain stimulation is really invasive,” Hen said.
Psychiatrist Jonathan Flint at Oxford University, who was not involved in the current research said, "The hope is that what is true for mice will be true for humans. If it is, then we have a route to improve the efficacy of antidepressants, rather than the current practice of try whatever we have and see what works."
The 1A receptor type might be different in the people who don’t respond to the drugs. Keith Young, a pharmacologist at The Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, said there could be a genetic reason why some people have high levels of the 1A receptor. There’s also a chance that the receptor could alter itself. "It might have to be expressed in high levels to work in some people properly," said Young, who was not involved in the current study.
The study, which was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, research-funding agency NARSAD, and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, is published in the Jan. 15 issue of the journal Neuron.
Clancy
02-07-2010, 03:48 PM
That is very interesting, who made this claim? Are there any actual studies using it to treat depression? I looked at the list of ingredients, you're making some fairly extreme claims here. And it looks like you sell this product, is that true?
Pardon my nitpicking, but your post looks like a sales pitch for an unproven treatment for depression, a genuine killer.
It is interesting to note that the new product Eleviv has improved moods in 88% of people who took two a day for a week and that number goes up to well over 90% after two weeks.
It works by balancing cortisol with hormones like testosterone naturally in the body.
Check out the website
Eleviv.com
and get your vigor score with the Profile of Mood States test.
Clancy
02-08-2010, 10:06 AM
It is interesting to note that the new product Eleviv has improved moods in 88% of people who took two a day for a week and that number goes up to well over 90% after two weeks...
Dear XanGo Rep,
Even though we've never met or spoken, you signed your rambling, private email to me "Love always, Andrew". Frankly, I'm skeptical, and I fear I'm about to strain our new relationship.
I’d post your loving email for the edification of fellow waccos, but that would be a breach of internet etiquette, and might take the shine off your enthusiasm for me. Instead I’ll address just some of your obvious obfuscation and outright lies directly.
You claim the Mayo Clinic has studied your absurdly high priced mix of green tea and fruit juice, but you neglected to describe the study or its results, nor did you provide any link or attachment. Please feel free to post a link to the study's results here.
You also make the extraordinary claim that based on the results of this study, the Mayo Clinic is now recommending Xango (but you don’t say what for) and you claim they’re doing further studies on it, and again, you provide no info whatsoever. Unless you can substantiate these claims, I’ll just assume you’re lying.
And finally, if I see you make such claims again, I’ll forward them to the Mayo Clinic and the FDA, perhaps they can clear up our confusion.
Love Always,
Clancy
P.S. The following is an excerpt from wikipedia regarding this MLM scheme.
XanGo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XanGo)
US FDA warning
On September 20, 2006, the United States Food and Drug Administration issued a warning letter to XanGo LLC International in response to the company's promotion of Xango juice as a drug, in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act [21 U.S.C. § 321(g)(1)], by claiming that it could treat and/or cure various diseases.[36] The agency's letter further warned that Xango juice had not been properly tested for safety and efficacy, and as a proposed new drug it could not be legally sold in the US without prior approval of the FDA, and that the company could face enforcement action including seizure and/or injunction of products or suspension of business. Under FDA drug labeling rules, XanGo LLC, as manufacturer, is responsible for satisfying scientific criteria to make health claims on its product labels and all marketing materials. As of September 2008, the case remains open.
Critical assessments of XanGo juice
The Mayo Clinic said in October 2005 that "there are no published clinical trials showing evidence that either the fruit or its juice — marketed under the name XanGo juice — is an effective treatment for arthritis, cancer or any other disorder in humans."[37]
In February 2006, the U.C. Berkeley Wellness Newsletter, sponsored by the University of California at Berkeley, said that "Mangosteen marketers make farfetched and unsubstantiated claims for their products." The newsletter notes that "there are no clinical trials, and what happens in a test tube or animal may not occur in a human. Any reported benefits in humans have been anecdotal. No one even knows if the processed fruit juice and capsules retain the potentially beneficial compounds. What’s more, the juice is typically a mix of fruit juices — with an undisclosed amount of mangosteen in it."
Dr. Ralph Moss, author of several books and newsletters on cancer research,[39] has said of mangosteen juice:
"In my opinion, what we have here is simply an overpriced fruit drink. Fruit drinks are often healthful beverages. But the only reason I can see that the promoters of mangosteen can get away with charging $37 for this product is that they are playing on patients' hopes and fears in a cynical way. Without the health claims, open or implied, the product could only be sold for at most $5 or $6 (which, for example, is the cost of antioxidant-rich pomegranate juice)."[40]
Clancy
02-10-2010, 01:16 AM
I'll only address one of your lies here. You clearly claimed that based on the results of a study done by the Mayo Clinic on Xango Juice that the Mayo Clinic is now recommending Xango Juice. That is an outright lie. They have never done a study on Xango Juice and they don't recommend it for anything.
The ONLY study on mangosteen (not Xango juice) by the Mayo clinic has just begun and won't be completed until December of 2011, and the results won't be available until months after that. You and your dubious company may not even like the results.
Why are you claiming that a not yet completed study on mangosteen's possible anti-inflammatory properties supports your wide ranging claims?
Show proof of your irresponsible claims or I'm going ahead and forwarding them to the Mayo Clinic and the FDA.
...Calling anyone a liar before asking for data and allowing an opportunity to present additional information seems rather rude....
Actually, the way this played out is:
1. You implied that your absurdly high priced concoction of green tea and fruit juice (Eleviv) is a wildly successful treatment for depression. That is so wrong it borders on being evil.
2. I asked for proof of your claim
3. You then sent me outright lies and weasely evasions regarding both Eleviv and Xango juice
4. Then I called you a liar
And finally, you just called Wikipedia's integrity into question for publishing the FDA's warning letter to your company, that's about as slimy (and internet naive) as it gets.
Here's the FDA's warning letter to Xango International in it's entirety;
https://mangosteen.worldwidewarning.net/www/archives/8
Barry
02-10-2010, 02:58 PM
:duel:Ding - Ding!
Contestants please return to your corner while I chime is on a couple of points:
First, with regards to Clancy's recent post (https://www.waccobb.net/forums/waccoreader/63453-why-antidepressants-dont-work-half-patients.html#post106885) (#4) I was not aware that his responses about the Mayo clinic were solely in reply to an earlier private message. Once this was brought to my attention I removed those comments and cautioned Clancy to not to refer in detail to any private message in a public posting.
However XangoRep decided to respond in detail, so I have restored the message to its original form.
Once again, let my remind everybody of common netiquette which is to not post anything publicly about a private communication from someone else without their consent. I will allow a reference in the broadest terms, such as identifying the topic ("the efficacy of Eleviv" in this case) but no further.
Clancy, let me further caution you that calling people names ("liar") is not appropriate here. Of course you welcome dispute certain "facts" and disagree with opinions or assessments, but not to cast aspersions on the character of another member.
Ding - Ding! You may continue, respectfully...
:duel:
Clancy
02-10-2010, 04:23 PM
As much as I enjoy the fight for truth regarding outrageous claims and conduct, business calls me away. Thanks for restoring my post.
:duel:Ding - Ding!
Contestants please return to your corner while I chime is on a couple of points:
First, with regards to Clancy's recent post (https://www.waccobb.net/forums/waccoreader/63453-why-antidepressants-dont-work-half-patients.html#post106885) (#4) I was not aware that his responses about the Mayo clinic were solely in reply to an earlier private message. Once this was brought to my attention I removed those comments and cautioned Clancy to not to refer in detail to any private message in a public posting.
However XangoRep decided to respond in detail, so I have restored the message to its original form.
Once again, let my remind everybody of common netiquette which is to not post anything publicly about a private communication from someone else without their consent. I will allow a reference in the broadest terms, such as identifying the topic ("the efficacy of Eleviv" in this case) but no further.
Clancy, let me further caution you that calling people names ("liar") is not appropriate here. Of course you welcome dispute certain "facts" and disagree with opinions or assessments, but not to cast aspersions on the character of another member.
Ding - Ding! You may continue, respectfully...
:duel: