Drug or No Drug: Placebos may be more than appeasing

Antidepressant drugs such as Prozac generally fall short of providing significantly more relief to depressed patients than placebo pills do, according to a new analysis of multiple clinical trials obtained from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Antidepressants substantially outperform placebos only among extremely depressed individuals, says a team led by psychologist Irving Kirsch of the University of Hull, England.