SSRI's and depression

This article examines the effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors as a treatment for depression in children and adolescents. The aim of the study is to test the effect of fluoxetine in the acute treatment of depression. The effects were determined by a randomized double blind control trial in which the control group were compared to the placebo group. The main findings of the article were that the control group given the SSRI fluoxetine showed greater improvements in terms of treatment of depression than the placebo group, and the SSRI showed more significant results as an anti-depressant than tricylic agents that were presented in previous studies mentioned in the article.
As briefly stated before the purpose of the article was to test the efficacy of fluoxetine as an anti-depressant, the methods of testing saw 96 children, age varying between 7 and17 randomly divided into two groups and examined with the Clinical Global impressions scale and the Children’s Depression Rating scale. The participants were assessed over a time period of 8 week. The results displayed that the treatment group saw 27 of 48 improve in terms of the ratings on CGI scale and the CDR scale, whereas the placebo group only 16 out of 48 showed improvements. Another important factor of the study is that numerous participants did not last the trial and only a small percentage displayed a complete reduction of depression symptoms. This study supports the notion the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors should be used to treat children with depression, as it displays positive results with the use fluoxetine in treating depression symptoms and also having a much higher success rate than the placebo group. The study is well structured, beginning with the background information on the topic, followed by the method in which the experiment was performed before displaying the results and conclusion. This structure allows the audience to gain a better knowledge of the topic and