Post by Allanque on Feb 23, 2004 22:39:38 GMT -5
www.nytimes.com/2003/12/16/health/psychology/16SUIC.html?ex=1077685200&en=9db2a4584e0e21ad&ei=5070 (it's a NYT article, so you can only see the full thing if you're registered)
"Many American psychiatrists were taken by surprise last week when British drug regulators told doctors to stop writing prescriptions for all but one of a newer generation of antidepressant drugs to treat depressed children under 18."
"The British regulators said that for adults, the benefits of the antidepressants, most belonging to the class called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or S.S.R.I.'s, clearly outweigh their risks.
But after reviewing 11 studies of the drugs in treating depressed children and adolescents, the regulators concluded that for most of the medications, the potential for harmful side effects — including suicidal thoughts and behavior, as well as hostility — was greater than the evidence for their effectiveness. Doctors should not prescribe the medications except in certain circumstances, the regulators said.
The drugs included Paxil, from GlaxoSmithKline; Zoloft, from Pfizer; Effexor, from Wyeth; Celexa and Lexapro, from Forest Laboratories Inc.; and Luvox, from Solvay. Prozac, by Eli Lilly, was exempted from the advisory. (Effexor is a serotonin-norepinephrine inhibitor.)"
"Many American psychiatrists were taken by surprise last week when British drug regulators told doctors to stop writing prescriptions for all but one of a newer generation of antidepressant drugs to treat depressed children under 18."
"The British regulators said that for adults, the benefits of the antidepressants, most belonging to the class called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or S.S.R.I.'s, clearly outweigh their risks.
But after reviewing 11 studies of the drugs in treating depressed children and adolescents, the regulators concluded that for most of the medications, the potential for harmful side effects — including suicidal thoughts and behavior, as well as hostility — was greater than the evidence for their effectiveness. Doctors should not prescribe the medications except in certain circumstances, the regulators said.
The drugs included Paxil, from GlaxoSmithKline; Zoloft, from Pfizer; Effexor, from Wyeth; Celexa and Lexapro, from Forest Laboratories Inc.; and Luvox, from Solvay. Prozac, by Eli Lilly, was exempted from the advisory. (Effexor is a serotonin-norepinephrine inhibitor.)"