Zoloft and Remeron are commonly given but don't help and may cause side effects, study finds
Article Source: msnbc.com
from:msnbc.comTwo antidepressants ineffective for dementia
Seeded on Tue Jul 19, 2011 2:40 PM EDT (msnbc.com)
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Parents have long recognized the importance of taking their children to a pediatrician. Their young bodies respond differently than adult bodies. When will society learn that senior citizens' bodies also respond differently than adult bodies and the a gerontologist is appropriate?
Just as the mechanisms for depression in children are different from adults, the mechanisms for depression in senior citizens are also different. As a result, both diagnosis and treatment need to be different. It is not just important for doctors to realize this (and I am sure that they do) but also the patients and their families, health insurance companies, Medicare and Medicaid bureaucrats, Federal and State legislators, and the general public to understand this.
For example, the appropriate dose of morphine for an adult might be lethal to a child or senior citizen of the same weight. Another example: Ritalin, which is an "upper" for adults, allows many hyperactive children to calm down and focus on school work - the absolutely reverse effect.
It is not at all surprising that a drug that works well in adults will work differently, or not at all, in senior citizens.
Here in the United States, doctors are expected to follow published protocols for treating a list of common diagnoses. Insurance companies often publish formularies, listing which drugs they will pay for to treat various diagnoses. These protocols and formularies currently handle children differently from adults, but they hndle adults and senior citizens as a single group.
This is a mistake. Applying adult protocols and formularies to senior citizens wastes money and, due to adverse reactions, causes additional money to be spent to treat the adverse reactions.
In my opinion, one of the reasons that health care costs for senior citizens is rising faster than health care for the general public is due to this policy blunder. Adding separate protocols and formularies for senior citizens is one tool, among many, for reducing the explosive cost of health care costs.
It is not that the mechanism of depression is different in older people, it is that it is different in those suffering from depression due to Alzheimer's related dementia than in other forms of depression. There is nothing in this article to indicate that the medications are ineffective in older people suffering from depression from causes other than Alzheimer's related dementia. The fact that this drug is being prescribed to Alzheimer's patients is largely due to the unchecked marketing of medications by the pharmaceutical companies for uses other than those for which it has been approved. This off label marketing is technically illegal but goes on all the time. This is because the FDA does little if anything to uncover these illegal marketing activities. There needs to be greater enforcement and higher penalties for drug companies and their representatives marketing drugs for unapproved uses.
I just did a little research. The current Texas Medicaid Provider Procedures Manual contains a supplement: Children's Services Handbook. This handbook is 395 pages and details what diagnoses and treatments a Medicaid provider may bill Medicaid for. If a diagnosis or streamer is not in this list, the doctor may not bill Medicaid for it and, since Medicaid is the payer of last resort, the doctor may not bill the patient's family. Essentially, this bars the doctor from even offering any service not in the handbook.
There is no corresponding "services handbook" for senior citizens. Since senior citizens are not differentiated from adults, the doctor may have to pick the best of the inappropriate services from the adult list to attempt to help an ailing senior citizen.
I quite agree JS. Worse, the word depression is also to general. Overall reading the article is alarming for those using these to meds which work quite well for MDD and or milder forms of depression, anxiety etc. The are also quite useful for those who have other forms of dementia. I fear the article might cause home care givers to discontinue these meds which could cause some problems.
what a suprise. HA!!!
another example of pharmies and doctors doing harm and acting like they dont know
I hear from the elderly that dementia is the way to go, cause you won't remember it anyways!
haha, good one. if these drugs are so ineffective in the treatment of demintia, why the hell are they sold to republicans from south carolina?
Hmm. Not sure how the patient with dementia knows whether their depression is better or not, or if they experienced adverse side affects. I think one of the biggest problems we have in the US with our medical system, and its associated costs, is that doctors prescribe way too much medicine for seniors which causes a multitude of other problems which in turn leads to more doctor visits. I have witnessed this first hand with my parents and in-laws. The best medicine is the least medicine regardless of your age.
By not having medicines specifically for treating conditions in senior citizens, doctors are forced to prescribe the best choice from the drugs available for treating the condition in adults. Because these drugs work differently in senior citizens, the doctor may have to prescribe a larger dose than for a normal adult and this may lead to more severe side effects.
Adult bodies are better able to handle side effects without, or with minimal, medication. Senior citizens, however, are more likely to suffer severely from the routine side effects and to require additional medication to deal with the side effects. When larger doses are prescribed, the situation is worse.
If we only knew how big PHARM controls our world and our lives, and they spend huge on print and TV ads so they are never challenged. Get a free ride. If we could see the scope of this problem it would make OJ and Casey Anthong seem like small stuff.
If we only knew how much big PHARM controls our world and our lives and since they provide huge revenue to print and other media they get a free ride. If we knew the extent of their influence and power it makes OJ and Casey Anthony seem like small potatoes, because their actions harm and kill so many people
Typical of pharms to push drugs for unapproved uses.
And I hate it when my mom's doctors goes along with it!
Unless a drug is specifically approved for geriatric use, any drug prescribed for a senior citizen should be considered as "unapproved use."
it doesn't matter how a drug performs, good or bad. what matters to the drug companies and the politicians is how much money can be made from the stuff.
ain't america great? we spend loads on a "war on drugs" and allow drug money to influence our politicians. kinda like screwin' for chastity.
There are many types of dementia. Alzheimer's is only one of the many, though most in the public sector use the two words interchangeably.
"Well...Surprise, Surprise, Surprise" as Gomer Pyle would say. Big Pharma & sleezball Dr's who don't know a Band-Aid from a Q-Tip are to blame for this "prescription overload" on the U.S. public's immune systems. "Don't help"/ " more side-effects"/ I don't think Hypocrates had this manipulation of the patient in mind when he wrote his oath! What about people that use these drugs for depression or other conditions? I hope they keep studying these drugs like they should ALL drugs. I suggest using Cannabis, which I support legalizing...much better for you and WAY more natural than these man-made chemicals that have awful side-effects and DON'T HELP ANYONE with Dementia.
Its sad, Drugs like anti depression meds are bad
My mother in law took zoloft for 20 years and had Alzheimers. All she wanted to do was sleep over the last four years until she passed away May 1, 2011. What a waste of money. Typical of big Pharma companies, they could give a @!$%# about the side effects, and the FDA who approves these drugs. Someone always has a hand in big Pharma's pocket. Unfortunately our country has with the help of lobbyists (bribers) has taken the greed over the well being of its citizens. Pathetic!