Report to the FDA: Violence and Suicide Caused by Antidepressants by Breggin

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[sSRI-Research] Report to the FDA: Violence and Suicide

Caused by Antidepressants by Peter R. Br

 

 

 

Violence and Suicide Caused by Antidepressants

Report to the FDA

 

August 23, 2004

 

by Peter R. Breggin, M.D.

 

On March 22, 2004 the FDA issued a " Public Health Advisory " cautioning

about the risks associated with the new generation of antidepressants

including the SSRIs. In examining drug-induced suicide, the FDA's also

observed that certain behaviors are " known to be associated with these

drugs, " including " anxiety, agitation, panic attacks, insomnia,

irritability, hostility, impulsivity, akathisia (severe restlessness),

hypomania, and mania. " This syndrome will cause both suicide and

violence. Each of the adverse drug reactions described as " known "

antidepressants effects has been linked to violence—most obviously

agitation, irritability, hostility, impulsivity, akathisia, hypomania

and mania.

 

The FDA's conclusions seem drawn from my recent detailed review of

SSRI adverse effects (Breggin 1993/1994, p. 32): " Mania with psychosis

is the extreme end of a stimulant continuum that often begins with

lesser degrees of insomnia, nervousness, anxiety, hyperactivity and

irritability and then progresses toward more severe agitation,

aggression, and varying degrees of mania. "

 

I made a similar analysis ten years ago in Talking Back to Prozac

(1994) when I suggested that a label warning for SSRI antidepressants

should include specific behavioral reactions including violence,

depression and suicide (also see Breggin, 1997, 2002).

 

As a psychiatrist and as a medical expert, I have examined dozens of

cases of individuals who have committed suicide or violent crimes

while under the influence of the newer antidepressants. In South

Carolina, for example, twelve year old Christopher Pittman shot his

grandparents to death shortly after starting Zoloft. In other cases,

a fourteen-year-old girl on Prozac fired a pistol pointblank at a

friend but the gun failed to go off, and a teenage boy on Zoloft beat

to death an elderly woman who complained to him about his loud music.

A greater number of cases involve adults who developed dyscontrol and

manic-like aggressive syndromes while taking antidepressants.

 

Numerous criminal cases have been positively influenced by my

testimony concerning these adverse drug effects.

 

Antidepressant-induced mania can lead to violence and also " crashing "

with depression and suicide. One clinical trial showed a rate of 6%

manic reactions for depressed children on Prozac (Emslie et al.,

1997). None developed mania on a sugar pill. The FDA-approved label

for Luvox indicates a rate of 4% for mania in children in controlled

clinical trials. In short-term clinical trials, 1% or more of

depressed adults typically develop mania compared to a small fraction

on the sugar pill.

 

The FDA should follow the example of Great Britain in discouraging the

use of these drugs in children. Beyond that, the FDA and the medical

profession must forthrightly educate potential patients and the public

about the sometimes life-threatening risks associated with the use of

antidepressant medications, including suicide and violence.

 

 

Bibliography

 

Breggin, P. (1997). Brain-Disabling Treatments in Psychiatry (New

York: Springer Publishing Company).

Breggin, P. (2002). The Antidepressant Fact Book. (New York: Perseus).

Breggin, P. (2003/2004). Suicidality, violence and mania caused by

selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs): A review and analysis.

International Journal of Risk and Safety in Medicine, 16: 31-49,

2003/2004. (The complete text

of the peerreviewed article appears on www.breggin.com).

Breggin, P. and Breggin, G. (1994). Talking Back to Prozac. (New York:

St. Martin's Press).

Emslie, G., Rush, A., Weinberg, W., et al. (1997). A double-blind

randomized, placebo-controlled trial of fluoxetine in children and

adolescents with depression.

Archives of General Psychiatry 54:1031-1037.

 

 

Contact Information

Peter R. Breggin, M.D.

101 East State Street, No. 112

Ithaca, New York 14850

Phone: 607 272 5328

Fax: 607 272 5329

www.breggin.com

 

 

 

Drug-Free School Zone? Just Say NO to Prozac for Children.