SSRI in Newborns Leads to Anxiety, Depression, Emotional Problems Later

[Guest guest]

atracyphd2

Wed, 27 Oct 2004 02:50:16 EDT

Subject:[drugawareness] SSRI in Newborns Leads to Anxiety, Depression,

Emotional Problems Later

 

 

 

Several of you contacted me today to let me know that the following

study had once again shown that what I have been saying for 15 years

about SSRIs is exactly right. One piece at a time they continue to

prove every point I made in my book that first came out over a decade

ago. Had they listened then so many would still be with us who have

since lost their lives to these deadly drugs.

 

I just spoke with a clinician tonight who told me that when they run

one of the tests they generally give in their clinic these drugs

always show up as LSD.

Of course that should surprise no one who has read my book either.

 

Let's look at what we learned today about the dangers of these drugs

being given to pregnant women and young children:

 

" The team found that rodents who received drug as newborns were more

intimidated by new surroundings and moved more slowly to avoid painful

shocks compared to controls. " They are more inhibited in novel

situations, " says Gingrich. " Extrapolating to people, we'd say the

mice are showing symptoms of anxiety and depression or emotional

problems. "

 

" But more recent research has suggested these medications may cause

subtle neurological changes in the developing fetus.

 

" Two years ago, for example, Oberlander and his colleagues reported

that babies exposed to SSRIs in the womb were less sensitive to pain.

And earlier in 2004, other researchers reported that SSRI-exposed

infants had altered sleep patterns and a higher incidence of tremors. "

 

When you understand the science behind the drugs none of this is a

surprise and all of it should be expected to be the result, not just

in a fetus or newborn, but in any living creature. We have known all

of this about serotonin for over 50 years. And the first thing we

learned about the effects of SSRIs on babies exposed to the drugs this

way is that they suffered hypoglycemia - a condition that can produce

all of the symptoms mentioned above.

 

But to see the following statement made by the lead researcher in this

study really was upsetting:

 

" But it is a little bit alarming to find they might carry risks that

aren't apparent until later in life. "

 

Why anyone would say such a thing when everyone knows that you have no

idea what long term effects there will be on a developing brain until

that brain is fully developed. The SSRIs were introduced the end of

1987 so we will not know the effects upon these children until about

the year 2012. Obviously by then it will be too late.

 

So, why were these studies not done to determine long term effects

BEFORE these drugs were introduced? Hopefully for all of you who have

been getting this e-newsletter

for a while now will know the answer to that question: They do not

test these drugs for anything like that until they are forced to do

so. Testing is done to gain market

approval and that is all. In other words, anyone who takes them is a

guinea pig.

 

 

Ann Blake Tracy, Ph.D.,

Executive Director, International Coalition For Drug Awareness

Author: Prozac: Panacea or Pandora? - Our Serotonin Nightmare

& audio tape on safe withdrawal: " Help! I Can't Get

Off My Antidepressant! "

 

Order Number: 800-280-0730

Website: www.drugawareness.org

 

 

 

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996579

 

Newborn mice given Prozac grow up depressed

 

17:00 26 October 04

NewScientist.com news service

 

Mice treated with the antidepressant Prozac early in life grow into

adults with emotional problems, a new report concludes.

 

Whether the drug has the same effect on people is unknown. But the

result will add to the growing debate over what risks Prozac

(fluoxetine) and similar SSRI drugs (selective serotonin reuptake

inhibitors) pose for young children and unborn babies.

 

" If they really need these drugs, people should take them. They can be

life savers, " says Jay Gingrich, a psychiatrist at Columbia University

in New York City, US, who led the research. " But it is a little bit

alarming to find they might carry risks that aren't apparent until

later in life. "

 

Researchers began injecting mice with fluoxetine four days after birth

until they were 21 days old. Nine weeks after their last injection, the

adult animals were given a series of behavioural tests designed to

assess their level of anxiety and depression.

 

The team found that rodents who received drug as newborns were more

intimidated by new surroundings and moved more slowly to avoid painful

shocks compared to controls. " They are more inhibited in novel

situations, " says Gingrich. " Extrapolating to people, we'd say the

mice are showing symptoms of anxiety and depression or emotional

problems. "

 

Suicidal thoughts

 

" It's fascinating, " says Tim Oberlander, a developmental paediatrician

at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. " It

suggests these chemicals can cause crucial changes in the developing

brain. "

 

SSRIs work by increasing the level of the neurotransmitter serotonin in

the brain and can be extremely effective in treating depression. They

have been widely prescribed and make huge amounts of money for the

drug companies that sell them.

 

But the drugs have become the focus of some controversy. Recently, for

example, GlaxoSmithKline was accused of withholding data from clinical

trials, the results of which suggested that depressed children taking

their SSRI drug Paxil (paroxetine) had more suicidal thoughts than

placebo controls.

 

The use of SSRIs by pregnant women has been considered safe. For

example, studies have shown that these women give birth to babies of

normal weights, with unimpaired cognitive and language skills. But more

recent research has suggested these medications may cause subtle

neurological changes in the developing fetus.

 

Two years ago, for example, Oberlander and his colleagues reported

that babies exposed to SSRIs in the womb were less sensitive to pain.

And earlier in 2004, other researchers reported that SSRI-exposed

infants had altered sleep patterns and a higher incidence of tremors.

But it is not clear if these effects disappear soon after birth.

 

Difficult decisions

 

Gingrich's work suggests that even transient treatment with Prozac -

and potentially other SSRIs - can have lasting, paradoxical changes.

Even though the drug can treat depression in adult mice, it seems to

trigger symptoms of depression in mice exposed to it as newborns.

 

" It suggests that the immature nervous system responds very

differently than a mature one to the same drug, " he says.

 

Even with this new evidence, pregnant women with depression still face

a difficult decision over whether or not to take SSRIs, says Gingrich.

Being depressed carries its own risks to babies since it can lead to

poor care-giving and self-harm.

 

" It's important to assess for each patient whether there are

non-pharmacological ways of addressing these emotional problems, while

we try to get a handle on what the risks really are, " he says.