Madam, - It is now six weeks since the publication of research which raised serious concerns about the effectiveness of antidepressant drugs. According to this research, with the exception of very severe depression, antidepressants are no more effective in the treatment of depression than sugar pills.
This finding received widespread coverage in both the Irish and British media, including RTÉ's Prime Time. Tim Kendall, a deputy director of the (UK) Royal College of Psychiatrists' Research Unit described the finding as "fantastically important".
One might have thought this important matter would have received similar if not greater attention within the medical media in Ireland, provoking discussion and debate among doctors regarding the true value of antidepressant drugs. There are three medical newspapers in Ireland, circulated to Irish doctors on a weekly or two-weekly basis. To date, I have not seen a single reference to this matter in any of them.
To the best of my knowledge, these medical newspapers are largely funded by the pharmaceutical industry. - Yours, etc,
Dr TERRY LYNCH, (Author, Beyond Prozac), Ballykeeffe, Limerick.