Deadly newborn's lung aliment linked to mother's SSRI

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S

Wed, 8 Feb 2006 20:18:36 -0500

[sSRI-Research] [drugawareness] Deadly newborn's lung aliment

linked to mother's SSRI

 

 

 

For the past three years, we have posted announcements on the risk to

newborns if their mother took antidepressants during pregnancy.

Today, it was announced that a deadly lung disease in newborns is

being linked to the use of antidepressants during the last half of a

woman's pregnancy.

 

The FDA will decide in the next few days the method they will use to

warn the public of this serious health risk. A Black Box Warning is

being considered.

 

One in one hundred babies born to mothers who took antidepressants in

the last half of pregnancy could be effected by this lung disease. One

in ten babies will die from this disease. In moderately severe cases,

those who do survive often suffer brain damage or hearing loss.

 

Here is the announcement as it was reported by Web MD.

 

Dr. Ann Blake Tracy, Executive Director,

International Coalition For Drug Awareness

www.drugawareness.org & author of Prozac: Panacea

or Pandora? - Our Serotonin Nightmare (800-280-0730)

 

http://www.webmd.com/content/article/118/113028.htm

 

Pregnancy Antidepressants: Baby Risk

 

Deadly Newborn Lung Ailment Linked to Late-Pregnancy Depression Drugs

By Daniel DeNoon

WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Louise Chang, MD

on Wednesday, February 08, 2006

 

Feb. 8, 2006 -- Babies whose mothers took antidepressant drugs in the

second half of pregnancy are six times more likely to have a rare but

dangerous lung ailment, a new study suggests.

 

One study isn't proof. But it's strong evidence that taking SSRI

antidepressants -- such as Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil -- carries an

extra risk during pregnancy.

 

The risk is that the babies will have PPHN: persistent pulmonary

hypertension of the newborn. Only one or two in a thousand babies get

this, but it's very serious. It kills about one in 10 babies who get

it. In moderately severe cases, half the survivors suffer hearing loss

or brain damage.

 

" We find these results very concerning, " Sandra L. Kweder, MD, deputy

director of the FDA's office of new drugs, said in an unusual, hastily

called news conference. " We find the reported association of SSRI

antidepressants with this very serious condition to be very worrisome. "

 

This does not mean that pregnant women with clinical depression should

forgo treatment, says researcher Christina Chambers, PhD, MPH, of the

University of California, San Diego. Chambers is program director of

the California Teratogen Information Service. CTIS conducts pregnancy

outcomes research and offers women information about the pregnancy

risks of drugs and chemicals.

 

" This is a fairly low risk for women taking SSRI antidepressants, "

Chambers tells WebMD. " So if in fact SSRIs cause PPHN, the risk

appears to be low. For 100 women taking one of these medications late

in pregnancy, only one may have a child with PPHN. "

 

" This isn't a cause for panic among pregnant women taking these

medicines, " the FDA's Kweder says. " This is the kind of information a

woman should discuss with her doctors -- not just her obstetricians

but also the doctor providing her mental health care. Stopping these

medicines on your own can create more problems than it solves. The

small risk that is being reported here may well be outweighed by your

need for a medicine to treat your depression. "

 

The study appears in the Feb. 9 issue of The New England Journal of

Medicine.

 

FDA Advisory

 

Kweder says the FDA is taking a hard look at Chambers' findings. She

says the FDA will issue a public-health advisory in the next few days.

 

" We are in the process of evaluating the Chambers article further, "

Kweder explains. " We will look at our Adverse Event Reporting System

and other databases to see if we have any data to add to this. "

 

Kweder says the FDA may ask antidepressant makers to add a warning to

their labels. The agency may also ask the companies to conduct new

surveys of pregnant women who use or have used their products, she

notes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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