|
While drug manufacturers and regulators claim that antidepressants
reduce the risk of suicide, a leading expert in psychopharmacology
has uncovered evidence that shows otherwise.
The expert gained access to confidential company documents
of GlaxoSmithKline and found that results of the company’s
own clinical trials of Paxil, a selective serotonin reuptake
inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant, show that the drug increases
the risk of suicide.
The results show that about one out of every 60 people on
Paxil attempt to commit suicide, compared with one out of
every 550 people taking a placebo. This means that the risk
of committing suicide while on Paxil is nine or 10 times greater
than the risk on a sugar pill.
According to experts, the drug company and U.S. and U.K.
regulators have known about the data for 13 years.
The report was broadcast last year by BBC, which subsequently
received close to 1,400 e-mail reports and over 5,000 telephone
calls mostly from people who had suffered drug withdrawal
symptoms and thought they were alone.
Along with reports from adults, BBC reported that they received
23 about children who had had bad experiences with Paxil.
Although the drug has not been approved for use in people
under 18 years of age in the U.K., doctors can prescribe it
if they think it is necessary.
In the United States, however, the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) has approved SSRIs for children.
Moreover, according to BBC, the number of suicides linked
to Paxil may be significantly underestimated, as the FDA receives
reports for only one percent to 10 percent of actual adverse
drug reactions.
Despite the association, U.S. news media have averted their
gaze and are not conducting an investigation that would shed
light on the scope of the problem in America, where most of
the psychotropic drugs--including SSRI antidepressants--are
sold.
Some speculate that the media may be reluctant to investigate
the drug industry for fear that it may threaten their advertising
revenue.
The psychiatric community, including the American Psychiatric
Associatio and the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology,
has also remained silent on the problem of drug-induced suicide.
According to experts, vital information is being suppressed
and clinicians are prescribing these drugs without knowledge
of their potentially lethal side effects, and millions of
people who are taking the drugs, even for minor discomforts,
are doing so without knowledge of the potential for harm.
Research
Protection May 21, 2003
| 