Combination of Medicine and Therapy Called Best for Depressed Teens (2/2)

At twelve weeks, the researchers found reduced levels of depression in all three groups. But they say the group receiving the combination of treatments had the greatest reduction. This continued through the end of the nine-month study.

The researchers say eighty-six percent of those who received both treatments had improved. This was compared to eighty-one percent each in the two other groups. The study did not include an untreated control group. So there is no way to know for sure if it was the treatment that eased the depression.

The findings by Duke University researchers appear in the Archives of General Psychiatry. The National Institute of Mental Health paid for the seventeen million dollar study. The researchers say the group that received Prozac alone had a higher rate of suicidal thoughts than the other two groups.

Experts say antidepressant drugs can increase the risk of suicidal thinking and behavior in teenagers. And, earlier this year, the government asked drug makers to extend that warning to patients age eighteen to twenty-four during initial treatment. Generally that means the first one to two months.

参考译文：

在第十二周，研究者发现三组受试对象的抑郁水平均有下降。但是，他们指出接受联合疗法的受试组其下降幅度最大。这一现象在实验的九个月中持续存在。

研究者说接受联合治疗的受试组中86%的患者病情有所好转。而在其他两组各有81%的受试者情况好转。本研究中不包含未接受处理的对照组。所以还不能确切地得知这就是能减轻抑郁的治疗方法。

《普通精神医学纪要》刊登了杜克大学研究者的发现，国家精神健康研究所为这项研究出资1700万美元。研究者谈到仅接受百忧解（氟西汀）单一治疗的患者与其他两组相比，更容易出现自杀的想法。

专家指出抗抑郁药可以在青少年中增加其自杀想法和行为。并且，在今年早些时候，政府要求药物制造商对18-24岁间的病人首次接受治疗时增加此项警示。初期治疗一般指刚开始治疗的1～2个月。。