Fwd: [SSRI-Research] Study Confirms Link Between Antidepressants and Suicide

[Guest guest]

The real bottom line to this isn't just, if they cause suicide, which is bad

enough, but what do SSRI type medications do to the human mind? It is toxic

poisoning pure and simple and damages the brain, especially in children. All for

in the name of profit, but at the cost of our children. Frank

 

JustSayNo

Sat, 24 Apr 2004 16:19:20 -0000

[sSRI-Research] Study Confirms Link Between Antidepressants and Suicide

 

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Study confirms link between antidepressants and suicide

 

Drugs much riskier for kids than what was once thought, scientists

say

 

Friday, April 23, 2004

BY ED SILVERMAN

Star-Ledger Staff

 

For the first time, a study has compared previously undisclosed data

about four antidepressants with published medical findings, and found

the drugs pose a risk to children.

 

The results are the latest confirmation that several popular

medicines used to treat children for depression are riskier than

previously known and may lead to suicide. The study appears in the

latest edition of the Lancet, the British medical journal.

 

After reviewing the data, researchers wrote the risk of children

taking Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa and Effexor outweighed the benefits.

 

For instance, an unpublished Effexor study by Wyeth, its

manufacturer, revealed 14 suicidal events, compared with just one in

a published study. And published data on Zoloft by Pfizer omitted

information showing twice as many suicidal events, according to a

scientist who helped conduct the Lancet study.

 

" These drugs appear not to be any better than placebo, " said Tim

Kendall of the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health in

London, who co-authored the study at the request of U.K. medical

authorities. " And there might well be an increased risk of suicide. "

 

A spokesman for Wyeth said Effexor should never be prescribed to

children. Spokespeople for Glaxo, which markets Paxil, and Pfizer

didn't return calls seeking comment. Forest Labs, which makes Celexa,

couldn't be reached.

 

The study appears amid a widening controversy over antidepressants

that has engulfed the Food and Drug Administration, several of the

world's biggest drug makers and a growing number of families around

the country that want the use of these medicines restricted.

 

The controversy, however, is not straightforward.

 

Many doctors and their patients argue antidepressants save lives. And

though an increasing number of children are prescribed

antidepressants, only Prozac was ever approved for children in the

United States. The growth reflects off-label usage, a common practice

among doctors to write prescriptions even though regulators have not

approved a medicine for a specific use.

 

Nonetheless, the issue has prompted congressional investigations that

are attempting to shine a spotlight on the FDA's internal review

procedures. It has opened a debate over access to unpublished

clinical-trial data, which may include unflattering information about

a drug.

 

" The story of research into antidepressant use in childhood

depression is one of confusion, manipulation and institutional

failure, " The Lancet wrote in an editorial accompanying the study.

 

The unpublished clinical trial data was first disclosed last year

after U.K. medical authorities demanded the information from drug

makers. Consumer advocates say the risks found in that data

underscore the need to have access to such information.

 

" Doctors have been getting false information, " said Vera Sherav of

the Alliance for Human Research Protection in New York. " And when you

have misinformation about the safety and benefits of a medical

treatment, you're putting people at risk. "

 

Last month, the FDA asked drug makers to place warnings on labels

that the pills may cause suicidal thoughts. But the agency was

criticized by politicians and families for failing to follow the lead

of British medical authorities, who urged doctors not to prescribe

the drugs to children.

 

The agency has also been accused of muzzling one of its own medical

reviewers, who wants to restrict the use of antidepressants in

children, but was prevented from making his recommendation at a

meeting two months ago. Last week, the FDA, which has asked Columbia

University to analyze all clinical trial data, denied the charges.

 

One New Jersey parent yesterday said the Lancet findings were eye-

opening.

 

" This tells a completely different story and I'm happy this was

done, " said Laurie Yorke of Clark, whose son twice attempted suicide

while on Paxil. " Parents want to be given information they need. If

you're not told a risk is there, you're not going to look for it. "

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright 2004 NJ.com. .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos: High-quality 4x6 digital prints for 25¢

 

 

[Guest guest]

How would Strattera fit into this? jim

 

 

> The real bottom line to this isn't just, if they cause suicide, which is bad

> enough, but what do SSRI type medications do to the human mind? It is toxic

> poisoning pure and simple and damages the brain, especially in children. All

for

> in the name of profit, but at the cost of our children. Frank

>

> JustSayNo

> Sat, 24 Apr 2004 16:19:20 -0000

> [sSRI-Research] Study Confirms Link Between Antidepressants and

Suicide

>

> http://www.nj.com/search/index.ssf?/base/business-

> 0/1082702080191780.xml?starledger?bpha

>

> Study confirms link between antidepressants and suicide

>

> Drugs much riskier for kids than what was once thought, scientists

> say

>

> Friday, April 23, 2004

> BY ED SILVERMAN

> Star-Ledger Staff

>

> For the first time, a study has compared previously undisclosed data

> about four antidepressants with published medical findings, and found

> the drugs pose a risk to children.

>

> The results are the latest confirmation that several popular

> medicines used to treat children for depression are riskier than

> previously known and may lead to suicide. The study appears in the

> latest edition of the Lancet, the British medical journal.

>

> After reviewing the data, researchers wrote the risk of children

> taking Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa and Effexor outweighed the benefits.

>