Antidepressants

The most effective treatment for adolescents' depressive disorder is a combo-therapy.

According to a new study conducted by the Johns Hopkins Children's Center the most effective treatment for adolescents with major depressive disorder is a combination of antidepressants and psychotherapy.

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Researchers say the study's findings indicate this combination treatment may be best for both improving depression and reducing the level of suicidal thinking in adolescents.

Overall, combined antidepressant and talk therapy treatment yielded the best results, followed by antidepressants alone. However, researchers say that talk therapy on its own was found to be no more effective than placebo.

"Until this study, there was limited evidence that proved antidepressants were appropriate for use in teenagers with depression," John Walkup, M.D., a co-author of the study and a child and adolescent psychiatrist at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center, was quoted as saying.

"Not only do the results support the use of antidepressants for depressed teens, but when used in conjunction with talk therapy, these medications actually provide teens with the best chance to alleviate their depression, he added."

Controversy has surrounded the use of Prozac and similar medications (known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) because of reports that they may lead a small number of teenagers and children to become suicidal.

However in the current study, researchers found that the level of suicidal thoughts, which had been present in 29 percent of the youths at the beginning of the study, decreased significantly regardless of the treatment received, with the combination of fluoxetine and talk therapy showing the greatest reduction.