(Undark) – Experts worry MAHA could wage a war on SSRIs. But some researchers have long questioned the drugs’ efficacy.

The American Psychiatric Association, National Network of Depression Centers, and other organizations shot back: The safety and efficacy of antidepressants had been clearly established through decades of rigorous study, they wrote. They further expressed concern that the MAHA Commission unfairly “casts doubt on this research.”

But other researchers concede that some measure of doubt, or at least uncertainty, has dogged SSRIs for decades — not just in terms of their potential benefits and side effects, but even their basic mechanism of action. Rifaat El-Mallakh, who leads the Mood Disorders Research Program at the University of Louisville Depression Center, said that while many clinicians believe that antidepressants help their patients, “nobody has ever been satisfied with how effective they are.” (Read More)