"In addition," Mr Pogust reports, "the drug maker had previously conducted a number of European trials with both hospitalized and outpatient adolescents which showed Celexa to be no more effective than a placebo."
In May 2005, the FDA published the alarming suicide rate for children taking SSRIs in a Public Health Alert that stated "1 in 50" kids on SSRIs become suicidal or have increased suicidality "DUE TO DRUG."
The next month, another FDA Advisory warned that adult patients "should be watched closely for worsening of depression and for increased suicidal thinking or behavior."
In addition to suicide, some of the most serious adverse events reported to be associated with SSRIs in recent years, are birth defects. Many studies have determined that SSRIs are harmful to the unborn fetus. In April 2006, a study in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, by Canadian researchers, found that SSRIs use during pregnancy doubled the mother's risk of delivering a stillborn infant and increased the risk of premature delivery, underweight babies, and seizures.
These findings are important for doctors to know because according to a report by CDC researchers last year in Pediatrics, preterm birth is the leading cause of infant mortality in the US, accounting for at least a third of all deaths in 2002.
The harms to the fetus reported include a withdrawal syndrome, requiring prolonged hospital stays, respiratory support and tube feeding and a 6-fold increase in the life-threatening lung disorder, persistent pulmonary hypertension, as well as serious heart birth defects that require open heart surgery to correct.
In September 2005, studies conducted by Danish and US researchers found that the use of SSRIs in the first 3 months of pregnancy was linked to a 40% increased risk of birth defects such as cleft palate, and a 60% increase in cardiac defects. One study of 1,054 women who took SSRIs found they increased the risk of premature birth by 40%.
As a result of the rising number birth defects found to be associated with SSRIs, drug companies are facing a slew of lawsuits. They are reportedly especially worried about birth defect information becoming public because medical experts estimate that tens of thousands of infants in the US have SSRI-related birth defects, with the blame largely unknown to the parents.
Nearly 10 years ago, one of the harshest admonishments about the over-prescribing of SSRIs came in an Editorial in the October 20, 1997, issue of Time Magazine by Candace Pert, a professor at Georgetown University Medical Center at the time, as one of the two scientists who discovered the serotonin binding process, which stated in part:
I am alarmed at the monster that Johns Hopkins neuroscientist Solomon Snyder and I created when we discovered the simple binding assay for drug receptors 25 years ago.
Prozac and other antidepressant serotonin-receptor-active compounds may also cause cardiovascular problems in some susceptible people after long-term use, which has become common practice despite the lack of safety studies.
The public is being misinformed about the precision of these selective serotonin-uptake inhibitors when the medical profession oversimplifies their action in the brain and ignores the body as if it exists merely to carry the head around!
"In short," she warned, "these molecules of emotion regulate every aspect of our physiology."
Dr Healy says SSRIs continue to be over-prescribed even as researchers are finding more and more adverse events and doctors need to fully explain these side effects before prescribing the drugs so patients can make an informed choice about taking them.
Persons seeking more information on cases involving Celexa related suicides can contact the Pogust & Braslow law firm at 610-941-4204, or http://www.pogustbraslow.com/
Evelyn:
I noticed today that you have an article that pertains to a situation I am facing and I plan to use the article in handling the situation. I would appreciate any thoughts you may have concerning it or if you would rather not express an opinion, I would totally understand. Almost 2 years ago my Dad's urinary function was blocked by an enlarged prostate. My Dad is 85 years old and they didn't want to do surgery but ultimately they did and he is doing pretty well physically though he is still on Flomax for the condition. Because his weight was very low on admission to North Shore Hospital in Manhasset, New York, his doctor and his second wife, Jan,(who is a nurse there in Hospital Administration) had him put on 10 mg of Lexapro a day which as far as I know, he is still on. I am alarmed at the dangers of this drug particularly heart attack. I am planning to show him him the data on the dangerousness of Lexapro and SSRIs because his second wife said he had an irregular heartbeat and heart problems before being put on Lexapro (which to me is asking for disaster). They installed a Pacemaker in his chest but only after he had been put on the Lexapro. I want to show him the adverse data and see if he will agree to go see another Doctor to get a 2nd opinion on whether he should stay on the Lexapro or not because it is extremely dangerous, and look at if he could be safely gradually weaned off of it under supervision of a competent Doctor. My Dad's second wife, Jan, started screaming at me in a threatening manner when I once mentioned my concerns about my Dad taking Lexapro in the past. She told me not to say anything because he could have a heart attack and die (which is exactly what I think might happen to him if he is kept on the Lexapro). I don't feel I am violating any law about offering medical advice or acting as a doctor in showing my father the adverse data and asking him if he will agree to go for a second opinion regarding staying on the Lexapro. My Dad has told me he has given given his 2nd wife, Jan, legal control over his medical care. I feel if I challenge Jan and my Dad's doctor that they are arrogant enough to do almost anything to punish one who challenges their viewpoint. I worry about being arrested for abusing my Father by asking him to go for a 2nd opinion. Do you know of this ever happening? Any thoughts or suggestions in case that should happen? Again, if you would rather not express an opinion on this I would totally understand. Thanks for your emails and information and for these articles.
by
larrybone (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 9 comments)
on Friday, February 23, 2007 at 9:04:05 AM
