Improvement within 12 weeks is a positive sign, study finds By
Robert Preidt THURSDAY, June 7 (HealthDay News) -- Teens with
major depression who receive and respond to treatment are less
likely to abuse drugs in the following years, a new study
suggests. The study included 192 participants, aged 12 to 18, at
11 sites across the United States who were treated for major
depression and then followed for five years. The study
participants had no preexisting drug or alcohol abuse problems.
During the follow-up, 10 percent of those whose depression
receded after 12 weeks of treatment later abused drugs, compared
with 25 percent of those who did not respond to depression
treatment, the researchers found. "It turned out that whatever
they responded to -- cognitive behavioral therapy, Prozac, both
treatments, or [an inactive] placebo -- if they did respond
within 12 weeks they were less likely to develop a drug-use
disorder," study leader John Curry, a professor of psychology
and neuroscience at Duke University in Du