It's nice to see a group of healthy psychologists and psychiatrists using themselves rather than 'subjects' in this study.
Basically, the outcome was thus:
In the paroxetine groups, a total of thirty two psychiatric adverse events were recorded, with the authors concluding that they possibly were related to the paroxetine treatment.
There were four psychiatric adverse events recorded in the placebo (sugar pill) group!
Now... DO THE BENEFITS OUTWEIGH THE RISKS?
Paroxetine effects on emotions: a 4-week randomized placebo-controlled pilot study in psychologists and psychiatrists
Purpose of the study: The impact of paroxetine on emotional functioning is questioned, with regards to the known implication of serotonine in emotional regulation. The objective of our study was to evaluate the effects of paroxetine on emotional functioning in three arms: double blind paroxetine (DBPX), single-blind paroxetine (SBPX) and double-blind placebo (DBPL). Healthy psychologists and psychiatrists were elected for their ability to analyze with a correct sensibility changes in their emotions.
Method: 30 healthy participants (mean age: 33.5, gender ratio F/M: 1.5) working as psychiatrists (N = 18) or psychologists (N = 12) were randomly assigned to receive an ambulatory treatment with paroxetine (DBPX: N= 10, SBPX: N= 10) or placebo (DBPL: N= 10). Paroxetine was administered for 4 weeks at 20 mg/day. Emotional functioning was evaluated on D0, D7, D14 and D28 with the Emotional State Questionnaire (ESQ), a self questionnaire designed to assess 4 emotional dimensions: “recognition”, “expression”, “internal emotional experience” and “social context” [1]. The primary assessment criteria were ESQ scores on D28 compared with those on baseline. Impact of paroxetine on anxiety and depression was assessed by the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). The Addiction Research Center Inventory (ARCI [2]), based on drug users’ experience, was performed to measure euphoria, dysphoria, sedation and stimulant effects. Changes on D28 from baseline were compared between treatment groups, gender and professional status.
Conclusions: This is the first study to assess the impact of a 4-week paroxetine treatment on emotional functioning in a healthy psychiatrists and psychologists population. DBPX was distinguishable from the other groups by a decrease in the internal emotional experience of ESQ. Concordant with this result, DBPX reported more sedation and less stimulant effects. Moreover, differences between DBPX and SBPX were observed in both psychological evaluation and tolerance. Two factors could be involved in the clinical response to paroxetine in patients: a decrease in emotional feeling and treatment awareness.
References
[1] Catherine Cass´e-Perrot Eric Fakra Elisabeth Jouve Olivier Blin Conceptualisation and Validation of the “Emotional State Questionnaire (ESQ)”: Evaluation of an Emotional Profile L’Enc´ephale (in press)
[2] Warot D, Danjou P, Payan C, Puech A-J, 1997, Sensitivity and specificity to amphetamine of a french version of the 49-item form of the addiction research center inventory. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 45, 177–183.
Fid
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