Glaxo must pay $2.5M in Paxil case from pregnancy use

[Guest guest]

Is anyone working on a book on antidepressants and Ayurveda? It will be such a

valuable resource and gift to the world. It is on my list - if anyone wants to

team it let's talk. Someone with medical licensure is needed. - Ysha

 

By Miriam Hill, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

GlaxoSmithKline P.L.C. must pay $2.5 million to settle a claim that its

Paxil antidepressant caused severe heart defects in a 3-year-old Bensalem boy, a

Philadelphia common pleas jury ruled today.

 

The verdict is the first in 600 cases alleging that London-based Glaxo knew

Paxil caused birth defects and hid those risks to boost profits.

 

The drug, approved for U.S. use in 1992, generated about $942 million in

sales last year, 2.1 percent of Glaxo's total revenue.

 

London-based Glaxo has major operations in the Philadelphia region.

 

Michelle David had claimed that her 3-year-old son Lyam Kilker suffered

life-threatening heart defects because she took Paxil while she was pregnant

with him.

 

Glaxo issued a statement saying it disagrees with the verdict and will

appeal.

 

" While we sympathize with Lyam Kilker and his family, the scientific

evidence does not establish that exposure to Paxil during pregnancy caused his

condition. Very unfortunately, birth defects occur in three to five percent of

all live births, whether or not the mother was taking medication during

pregnancy, " the company's statement said.

 

David and Kilker's lawyers, Sean Tracey of Houston and Jamie Sheller of the

Philadelphia firm Sheller P.C., argued that Glaxo withheld information from

consumers and regulators about the risk of birth defects and failed to properly

test Paxil.

 

" The first win is always huge, especially when you get a jury saying the

drug caused the injury, " Sean Tracey, Kilker's lawyer, told Bloomberg in an

interview after the jury reached its decision.

 

Glaxo's lawyer, Chilton Varner of King & Spalding in Atlanta, countered that

the company reported any sign of problems to federal authorities. She had

accused Tracey of cherry-picking sentences from documents.

 

During the trial, she also noted that Kilker, who underwent several

surgeries to fix his heart problems today " has no cardiac symptoms . . .. is at

preschool and runs and walks like an [almost] 4-year-old should. "

 

In its statement today, Glaxo said it " acted properly and responsibly in

conducting its clinical trial program for Paxil, including sharing documentation

and submitting results from studies on Paxil to regulators. "

 

Kilker will require more surgeries as he grows.

 

David was a former cheerleader for the Philadelphia 76ers.

 

The case was heard by Judge Stephen Levin in Common Pleas Court.

 

The FDA initially classified Paxil as a drug with no known connections to

birth defects. In 2005, the agency reclassified it as a drug with some evidence

of human fetal risk but allowed doctors to continue prescribing it to women of

childbearing age if the benefits outweigh the risks.

 

Contact staff writer Miriam Hill at 215-854-5520 or

hillmb(at)phillynews.com.

 

This story contains information from Bloomberg News.

 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION ON WITHDRAWAL:: Get Peter Lehmann's book, Coming off

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" It requires courage to utter truth; for the higher Truth lifts her voice, the

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[Guest guest]

Of course Ayurveda could contribute substantially towards reducing the

depression " pandemic " around the world.

 

Orthodox medicine views depression as an imbalance of chemicals in the

brain, especially serotonin; and pays lip service to the psychological

and sociological causes.

 

There are two problems with trying to treat depression by " balancing "

serotonin with drugs:

 

* Your whole body produces serotonin and has receptors for it, not

just the brain!

* No one has any idea of all the possible actions of serotonin...

This means that taking drugs to control serotonin is a crap shoot in the

dark. Research has shown that less than 20% of users gain significant

benefits, and for many, these benefits are only temporary. And for many

others, the adverse effects are serious.

 

How can so many millions of people to this kind of absurd

treatment?

 

Whether " negative thoughts " cause chemical imbalance which causes mood

disturbances; or whether the chemical imbalances cause the negative

thoughts and the mood disturbances; is scientifically unknown.

 

What is known is that changes in situations and in thoughts can affect

depression; and that many of these situations and thoughts concern our

sense of connection to others, to Nature, and to the perceived purpose

and meaning of our life.

 

Humans are social animals. For many pregnant women and mothers, the

breakdown of community, and even family, support can leave them

disconnected, lonely and vulnerable. In traditional societies, everyone

participates in the pregnancy and birthing event - after all it's about

adding new resources to the community. This makes the woman feel very

special and important.

 

Ayurveda could help by bringing back that sense of importance to women.

A loving massage from a practitioner can really lift a woman's

self-esteem, making her feel like a Goddess - which she is! The right

diet can help her feel nourished and contented. The right exercise can

help her gently get in touch with her physical and energetic self, help

eliminate wastes, and help balance her hormones.

 

I have long thought that community clinics run by locals, which offer

simple therapies like massage and shirodhara, could really help towards

reducing serious illnesses - physical and mental. They could become

centres of information, herbs and herbal products, and of the care that

everyone regularly needs.

 

It will take a long time for society to understand its role in optimally

supporting its members, so that everyone feels they have a place and

everyone is mentally healthy. And of course this understanding will

continue to evade us as long as we are distracted by the false promise

of drugs.

 

I don't think it is a mind-bendingly big deal to understand the causes

of depression. I think we just need to search deeply in ourselves, to

understand what is lacking in our lives. From there will arise the

fundamental solutions to the problem in the wider world.

 

I would love to be involved in helping people through a collaborative

book. I am not medically-approved though! It would probably be hard to

find those kind of people - they are too busy fighting fires.

 

Best regards,

Gerald

Auckland, New Zealand

www.ScienceOfLife.co.nz <http://scienceoflife.co.nz>

 

ayurveda , " ayurdoula " <AyurDoulas

wrote:

>

> Is anyone working on a book on antidepressants and Ayurveda? It will

be such a valuable resource and gift to the world. It is on my list -

if anyone wants to team it let's talk. Someone with medical licensure is

needed. - Ysha

>