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In the Defense of Doctors Antidepressants are widely believed to be exceptionally effective medications. At least this is what is told to physicians. Most doctors want to implement the most effective medical treatment for their patients and accept the recommendations of both the FDA and the information provided by the pharmaceutical companies. Doctors have been informed that depression is due to low levels of serotonin. They have been told that the newer Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI) have less problematic side effects than the older tricyclic drugs. In the same way that the dangers of Vioxx or Phen Fen were not known for years, the dangers of psychiatric medication has recently come to light. Ironically, the adverse effects of an anti-depressant can appear very similar to a diagnosis of mental illness and therefore another drug treatment may be applied to an already difficult treatment case. The efficacy of medications is the responsibility of those governing boards to ensure that physicians are provided accurate information and clinical data that is not skewed to favor the marketing structure of pharmaceuticals. Until physicians are educated on the symptoms of adverse reactions or the withdrawal syndrome associated with psychiatric medications we cannot hold them responsible for knowing information that was withheld. However, by the same token there is a test available to physicians that can predict whether a patient will have adverse reactions to a behavioral drug and can be implemented easily into an existing practice. The DNA Drug Reaction Test safely tests metabolic pathways in the liver and can definitively determine whether a variation in the genetic pathway will affect metabolization of a drug. Pharmaceuticals have implemented Drug Reaction Testing to ensure their clinical trials are tested on individuals who can metabolize their drug. The Mayo Clinic recently began testing prior to prescribing any psychiatric medications. Until total disclosure from the pharmaceutical companies occur, doctors must begin implementing a test that can protect their patients. For information on Drug Reaction Testing Click Here.
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