Antidepressants and Other Psychoactive Drugs and Your Brain
Since their introduction 40-50 years ago and the coincidental transformation of psychiatry into a "biological” specialty (meaning prescribing drugs instead of talking and listening to the patient), psychotropics have always been among the most commonly prescribed drugs in the United States.

 

Tranquilizers and antidepressants today are always on the top-10 prescribed list. Fueled by aggressive marketing by the pharmaceutical giants along with a cooperative FDA and federal government, there is even at this moment a movement afoot to increase psychiatric screening of youngsters to assure early access to needed psychiatric "intervention”.

 

Already epidemic in children, the powers that be won’t rest until all the kids are on some type of psychiatric medication. Redefining behavior patterns in children (and adults) as diseases in DMS-IV, the diagnostic "bible" of psychiatrists and epidemiologists, also has done much to increase the percentage of the population on psychotropic drugs. And this is going on at the same moment as recently released data documents suicidal behavior and other side effects in children using these drugs.

All psychiatrically active medications work by shuffling around certain brain chemicals known as neurotransmitters (NT). These messenger molecules bridge the gap between neurons, and when present in adequate amounts in the synaptic space between neurons insure the transmission of electrical impulses down neuron bundles, thus permitting the proper function of the brain. Disorders such as depression, psychosis, obsessive compulsive neurosis, and anxiety (and many other non-psychiatric conditions like migraine or Irritable Bowel Syndrome) are all NT deficiency based diseases. We know this because only drugs which affect NT have any beneficial impact in treating them. It must be understood that none of these pharmaceuticals is able to increase NT levels. The ideal treatment for these disorders would be an agent(s) that increased and balanced the levels of the master NT’s in the brain. There is only one thing that can increase NT levels: amino acids. These must come from the diet or from supplementation. No drug in existence works by increasing the amount of NT in the presynaptic vesicles. Drugs are being devised because they can be patented and so that huge profits can be made by the drug companies. Amino acids cannot be patented, they are safe, and relatively inexpensive. Drugs generally work by blocking the reuptake of the NT out of the synaptic space. This effectively augments the chemical action of the diminished NT molecules on the post-synaptic neuron, thus simulating the effect of normal NT levels. The prototype drugs of this type are known as SSRI’s (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), and include Prozak and Zoloft. They are effective, at least initially, but they also have a host of side effects.

The side effects and window of therapeutic effectiveness are highly dependent on one crucial and almost entirely overlooked fact: in time, psychoactive drugs further deplete NT levels! Patients generally experience a period of initial improvement on these drugs which tends to wane with time. Certain behavioral side effects like suicidal or homicidal agitation, worsening depression or anxiety, and some neurologic symptoms (especially with the antipsychotic medications) can also occur. Further depletion of already low NT levels is the reason for this. The down side of the fact that these drugs cause NT to be left hanging in the synapse is that they are then subject to diffusion and excretion out of the brain, and to destruction by enzymes known as monoamine oxidases. This permanently reduces NT levels in the brain. In other words, as is often the case with pharmaceuticals, they reduce symptoms while making the underlying problem worse. If we had a drug that reduced the symptoms of angina, but made the underlying blockages in the arteries worse, should we be using it? I don’t think so. How about those anti-inflammatory drugs that reduce the discomfort of arthritis or sports injuries, but block the healing process? No we shouldn’t be using those either. Nor should we be prescribing antidepressants that cover over the symptoms of depression while aggravating the underlying cause. Is this new information? Did I just make this up? No, I didn’t. But it is interesting that the only study done on this issue wasn’t published until about four years ago in the Archives of General Psychiatry. Just think of all the patients treated over the last 50 years with these drugs, and only 4 years ago do we look into what impact the drugs have long term on brain biochemistry! That seems like a case of not wanting to know to me.

 

Furthermore do you think that this study shook the psychiatric profession at its very foundation? Do you believe that psychiatrists are now falling all over themselves to find substitute therapeutic agents or new research methodologies to test for brain NT balance? Nope. Instead, the study appears to have gone pretty much unnoticed. Why? Because it threatens the prevailing system, and like dentists who have a hard time backing away from the use of amalgam fillings, psychiatrists will not disown their drugs. In fact, when one drug stops working (usually due to NT depletion), they automatically increase the dose or switch to a different drug. And generally, psychiatrists believe that their patients need to continue their medications life long. These attitudes will just make the underlying problem worse.

I think now you see why I think these drugs are inefficient therapeutic agents, maybe dangerous, and should not be used long term. I do feel there is a valid short term role for these medications, but even then, nutritional supplements should be used in order to help restore NT to normal and to prevent drug induced depletion. Next week I will write more about using amino acids instead of drugs to balance NT.