Prozac in Streams Endangering Mussels

Health Daily News via Yahoo! ^ | 9/12/2006 | Anonymous

[zencat]

The antidepressant drug Prozac (fluoxetine) can disrupt the reproductive cycle of freshwater mussels and increase their risk of extinction, says a U.S. study presented Monday at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society, in San Francisco.

[July 4th]

On the upside, eating the mussels that survive is an excellent way to unwind after a long day.

[saganite]

So Prozac is a mussel relaxant?

[Sender]

Good Lord, another bizarre study. What exactly is Prozac doing in the streams, anyway? Do so many people take Prozac that they are peeing it downstream?

In an unrelated but true story, the British Hedgehog Society successfully forced McDonald's to redesign the lids for the McFlurry dessert because they claimed it was the proper dimension for a hedgehog to become stuck while eating ice cream and then die. From now on, British McFlurries will contain hedgehog-safe lids. That is such a load off my mind.

[Deaf Smith]

It gives them a mellow flavor.

[zencat]

So Prozac is a mussel relaxant?

Quick witted and clever.

[toddlintown]

I think the scientists who did this study are on drugs.

[toddlintown]

On the upside, they're now easier to open.

[Lokibob]

How can you tell a mussel is on prozac? He clams up!!!!! taaa daaaa.

[theBuckwheat]

>>
"The presence of Prozac and similar drugs in U.S. rivers and streams has likely compounded the problem..."
<<

With all due respect, it seems like this is an alarmist article, based on projecting what might happen in the wild based on lab experiments. The usual caveats must apply, but aren't mentioned.

[Eagles Talon IV]

Mary Mussel:"Hey, dude...you wanna..uh.....ya know, like uhhh do it...?

Mikey Mussell:Do it? yeah...uhh...do it....what the hell....uhh no I don't want to do it, I'd rather lay here and suck this great water down.

[xpertskir]

WHO CARES....

Seriously who paid for this study...oh wait, we did!

[Ben Mugged]

The body metabolizes fluoxetine (Prozac)into norfluoxetine, a desmethyl metabolite which is flushed by the kidneys. How then is fluoxetine getting in the rivers unless the Democrats are dumping it in our water to control Conservatives aggressive tendencies?

[Lokibob]

You are right, a Hippo on prozac is a hippy.

[capt. norm]

These are your mussels on Prozac:

[zencat]

[VeritatisSplendor]

From now on, British McFlurries will contain hedgehog-safe lids.

They already designed the McFlurries because some Muslims thought the logo looked like "Allah" in Arabic.

I'm not sure where to go with this.

Mrs VS

[theBuckwheat]

>>
What exactly is Prozac doing in the streams, anyway? Do so many people take Prozac that they are peeing it downstream?
<<

When a drug is ingested, the body eventually excretes it. Some drugs are metabolized, that is, digested or altered. Others eventually leave the body just as they entered it. Although very dilute when flushed down the toilet, if the sewage plant drains into a body of water, the chemicals that do not evaporate tend to accumulate. If a drug, such as female hormones from birth control pills reach a sufficient level in the water, they will have an effect on the wildlife. Some animals are affected by much lower doses of a drug than are the humans the drug was given to. So, this is can be a serious issue of environmental pollution.

We will hear a lot more on this issue in the future. If the EPA wants to address it, I hate to think of the changes that will have to be made to sewage treatment, not to mention the costs involved.

[NinoFan]

Granted, there may be extra costs involved, but what other solution is there besides changing the way sewage is treated?