Pros and Cons of whether adult antidepressants should be given to children

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 03 Feb 2004 - 0:00 PDT

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The FDA (USA) heard yesterday from parents who blame the pills for their children's suicides. They also heard from other families who say these pills are saving their children.

In the UK last year, health authorities said that research (which had long been suppressed) indicated that certain antidepressants could increase the risk of suicide in children.

The FDA is in a dilemma. It has to decide whether this risk is real. There already is a risk of suicide with depression anyway.

The focus is on SSRIs - a family of drugs known as Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors. Drugs in this category include Prozac.

Dr. Thomas Laughren (FDA medical reviewer) said that he has looked at 25 studies related to SSRIs, involving 4,000 patients. In those studies there were no successful suicides (people managing to kill themselves).

However, he pointed out the 109 children experienced one or more possibly suicide-related behaviors (UK spelling: behaviours).

Dr. Laughren said that there were so many interpretations of what 'suicidal behaviors' are. Of those 109 patients, 19 had cut themselves, they were superficial cuts with little bleeding.

"There's obviously something going on here," he said.

The FDA will decide what to do next at the end of the summer (this year). It has contracted Columbia University to help identify exactly how much suicidal behaviour took place in studies of SSRIs.

The FDA has asked doctors to use great caution when they are considering prescribing antidepressants other than Prozac (to patients who are under 18).

Many parents have asked the FDA to put warnings on the drugs' labels (of risk of suicidal behaviour).

Some families also said that this type of drug caused violent behaviour.

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