FDA seeks antidepressant warning

AP via Yahoo! News ^ | 5/2/07 | ANDREW BRIDGES

[libertarianPA]

WASHINGTON - Young adults beginning treatment with antidepressants should be warned about an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior, federal health officials said Wednesday.

The Food and Drug Administration proposed labeling changes that would expand a warning now on the antidepressants. The current language applies only to children and adolescents. The expanded warning would apply to adults 18-24 during the first month or two of treatment with the drugs, the FDA said.

The proposed labeling changes also would note that studies have not shown this increased risk in adults older than 24, and that adults 65 and older taking antidepressants have a decreased risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior, it said.

The proposed expanded warnings emphasize that depression and certain other serious psychiatric disorders are themselves the most important causes of suicide.

"Antidepressant medications benefit many patients, but it is important that doctors and patients are aware of the risks," said Dr. Steven Galson, the FDA's drugs chief.

The proposed changes came with the endorsement of FDA expert advisers. Some experts have argued that the changes are overdue while others maintain they could keep drugs from those who need them.

Last month, a comprehensive analysis of antidepressants for children and teenagers found the benefits of treatment trump the small risk of increasing suicidal thoughts and behaviors in some patients. The Journal of the American Medical Association study also found that risk is lower than what the FDA identified in 2004, the year the agency warned the public about the risks of the drugs in children.

[libertarianPA]

Aren't they taking the anti-depressants to prevent this sort of thing? Why take them in the first place?

"Well, I'm no longer depressed! In fact, I'm so happy I now want to throw myself off a tall building!"

Doesn't really make sense. Once again, I probably misunderstand.

[newzjunkey]

Drugs aren't like light bulbs, you don't get the same results each time.

The patient might have unusual adverse interactions with another medication or get symptoms based on schedule disruptions alone--I've seen this first hand.

The *hope* is the patient will respond positively to the treatment, but it's not guaranteed by any stretch.

These aren't "mood enhancers" that give you a happy buzz and may become addictive.

Generally SSRIs like Prozac, Zoloft, Luvox or Paxil try to delay the re-uptake of serotonin, a neurotransmitter, in hopes recipient cells get stimulated more fully. That's not all these drugs do nor are they completely interchangeable.

For some people they do a tremendous good and for others they may make cause new problems or radically enhance depression, conditions of which the chemical origins are not fully understood.

My personal, lay person opinion is such warning labels should be on the bottles regardless of patient age and more monitoring may be called for.