A recent study published in “The British Medical Journal” has revealed that antidepressants may be ineffective at alleviating the discomfort caused by chronic pain. Antidepressants, as their name suggests, have repeatedly proven to be effective at treating the symptoms of a myriad of mental health disorders. They are especially effective at providing quick relief for people suffering from severe depression, a condition that is thought to affect millions of people in America and around the world.
The use of antidepressants among patients has been on the rise over the past couple of decades and surged during the coronavirus pandemic, when millions of people were forced to isolate in their homes to avoid developing the deadly respiratory condition.
A scientific brief from the World Health Organization notes that the pandemic increased anxiety and depression rates around the world by around 25% in the first year and caused a spike in antidepressant use. However, recent research has revealed that mental health conditions weren’t fully responsible for the increase in antidepressant use. Researchers found that some people may have been receiving off-label antidepressant prescriptions to treat chronic pain caused by conditions such as osteoarthritis, persistent headaches and fibromyalgia.
When they reviewed scientific literature on the association between antidepressant use and pain management, the researchers found that off-label antidepressant prescriptions were rarely effective at treating chronic pain. Of the 42 studies that the researchers reviewed, only 11 studies that were focused on 9 chronic pain conditions showed some evidence that antidepressants could be effective at treating chronic pain.
For starters, the data suggested with “moderate certainty” that serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) may help to reduce pain from conditions such as neuropathic pain, postoperative pain, fibromyalgia and back pain. There was also “low certainty” evidence suggesting that SNRIs could help alleviate pain caused by knee osteoarthritis, depression and breast cancer treatment.
Additionally, the review showed that there was “low certainty evidence” that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) could be effective at treating people with major depression as well as pain caused by other underlying conditions.
On the other hand, there was little evidence that tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) could effectively alleviate neuropathic pain, chronic tension-type headaches and irritable bowel syndrome. The study authors noted that there was no high certainty evidence proving that any type of antidepressant could alleviate pain effectively. They concluded that some antidepressants may have pain-relieving properties, but it depends on the type of condition the patient has and the class of antidepressant they are using.
This study underscores the urgency of the work being done by companies such as India Globalization Capital Inc. (NYSE American: IGC) to develop effective chronic pain treatments from cannabinoids such as THC so that patients don’t have to resort to the off-label use of antidepressants to manage their chronic pain.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to India Globalization Capital Inc. (NYSE American: IGC) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/IGC
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