Posts Tagged ‘ SNRI ’

Top 10 Drugs with Heart Side Effects on LawyersandSettlements.com

January 31st, 2012. By AbiK

In recognition of American Heart Month, which kicks off tomorrow (Feb. 1st), and National Wear Red Day (Feb. 3rd), LawyersandSettlements.com takes a look at our most-viewed drug lawsuit topics for 2011 in which heart attack or heart side effects were the alleged primary injuries.

Unfortunately, while a lot of focus this month will be on the positive measures we all can take to improve heart health—and that’s certainly important—it can be easy to overlook the negative heart side effects some drugs can have—and attention should be given to those as well.

As the chart at left depicts, Actos, Paxil and Zoloft accounted for the majority of 2011 traffic related to heart side effects, with Actos receiving the most at 25 percent. The Type 2 diabetes drug was released as an alternative to Avandia, which as you’ll recall came off pharmacy shelves as a result of the new FDA REMS program that became effective in November, 2011. Still, Avandia came in as the fourth most popular heart lawsuit topic. 

Paxil, the popular antidepressant, has been linked to heart birth defects in infants and the drug drove in 18 percent of traffic last year. Ditto Zoloft, which accounted for 10 percent of the pageviews among readers concerned over the potential for heart birth defects. 

The ten prescription drugs on the list fall into four distinct classes: Actos and Avandia are prescribed for the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes; Vytorin helps to control cholesterol, which has a direct impact on heart health; Trasylol is used during surgery to mitigate blood loss; the remaining drugs address depression and anxiety. 

Reader interest in Prozac, Lexapro, Effexor, Celexa, Zoloft and Paxil shows continued concern surrounding pregnant women using selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) drugs and potential heart birth defects.

Here’s the full list: 

Top 10 Drug Lawsuit Topics for Heart Side Effects in 2011 

1. Actos (Pioglitazone HCl)
2. Paxil (Paroxetine)*
3. Zoloft (Sertraline)*
4. Avandia (Rosiglitazone)
5. Celexa (Citalopram)*
6. Effexor (Venlafaxine)*
7. Lexapro (Escitalopram)*
8. Prozac (Fluoxetine)
9. Trasylol (Aprotinin)
10. Vytorin (Ezetimibe/Simvastatin)

*SNRI (serotonin-norephinephrine reuptake inhibitor) or SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) drugs associated with heart birth defects when taken during pregnancy

Tags: Actos, American Heart Month, Avandia, birth defects, Celexa, Drug Lawsuit, Effexor, Heart Adverse Events, heart attack, Heart Side Effects, Lexapro, paxil, Prozac, SNRI, SSRI, Trasylol, Vytorin, Zoloft
Posted in Class Action, Drugs/Medical, lawsuits, Personal Injury | 5 Comments »

Questions about Antidepressants and Pregnancy

January 14th, 2011. By AbiK

There’s a lot in the news about pregnancy and antidepressants (SSRI’s in particular—and especially Paxil, which has a Category D rating by the FDA). And we get a lot of comments and emails from readers who are either looking for information about SSRI drugs and pregnancy—or who share their stories about negative side effects they’ve experienced while taking antidepressants.

It’s a tough call—particularly when depression and pregnancy are not exactly mutually exclusive of each other. As any mom will tell you—even the ones who “just love being a mom!” and “always wanted to have at least 4 kids!”—you know who I mean—there are moments when you’re exhausted, down, emotionally drained. For many, it’s a circumstantial situation that, given a few hours, some diversions, or a good workout, tends to go away and resolve on its own. But not for everyone. And that’s where depression medication comes into play. Bottom line, it’s no accident that “Peanut Butter, Playdates & Prozac” became a popular read…

We publish a lot of information at LawyersandSettlements to help readers understand what’s going on with antidepressant lawsuits. But we also post background information as well—and for those of you who’ve written in requesting information about antidepressants and pregnancy, I’ve pulled some of our informative posts. Here they are:

Paxil Birth Defects: Baby Beware! A look at Paxil, pregnancy and depression

Antidepressant Guide: the Brands, the Generics & Who Makes Them List of antidepressant brand names and the names of their generic equivalents, and their manufacturers

Antidepressants: Know what they’re Winding you Up With Information about antidepressant drug classifications–the “umbrella” categories that antidepressant drugs fall into: SSRI, SNRI, NDRI, MAOI, and Tricyclics.

Having a Baby? Get to Know the FDA Drug Classifications Information about FDA pregnancy ratings for drugs. (Category A, Category B, Category C, Category D, and Category X—the system in which Paxil has been classified as Category D; and antidepressants like Effexor and Celexa are Category C. For those wondering, the Prozac pregnancy rating and the Zoloft pregnancy rating are both Category C at present as well).

Mom Alert: Would you want a 68% Higher Risk of Miscarriage? Study showing high rate of SSRI miscarriage risk—as well as SNRI and Tricyclic risk. Study looked at citalopram, fluoxetine, fluvoxa-mine, paroxetine, sertraline, ami-triptyline, clomipramine, desipramine, doxepin, imipramine, nortriptyline, trimipramine, venlafaxine, serotonin modulators, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, tetracyclic piperazino-azepines, and dopamine and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors.

Hope this info helps—but remember, please consult your physician for medical advice about your particular situation—only your doctor(s) can advise and treat you. If you need legal help…that’s another story…

Tags: Antidepressant, paxil, Paxil birth defects, paxil-heart-defects-newborn, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Cateogory, prozac-birth-defects-lung-heart, prozac-heart-birth-defect, SNRI, SSRI, ssri_birth_defects, zoloft-heart-birth-defect, zoloft-lung-heart-birth-defects
Posted in Drugs/Medical, Emerging Issues | 2 Comments »

Mom Alert: Would you want a 68% Higher Risk of Miscarriage?

June 2nd, 2010. By LucyC

A new study out yesterday—June 1, 2010—has revealed a higher rate of miscarriages in women who were taking antidepressants during pregnancy. How much higher? Sixty-eight percent—yes —that’s 68%—higher. Frankly, that is nothing short of shocking.

Published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the study was done in Canada through the University of Montreal. FYI—This was no small study either—the investigators used data from 5,124 women who are part of a large, population-based study of pregnant women who had clinically verified miscarriages, and a large sample of women from the same registry who did not have a miscarriage. Among the women who miscarried, 284 or 5.5 percent, had taken antidepressants during their pregnancy.

In fact the findings are so robust that the physicians who did the study are suggesting that this is a class effect—in other words the effect could be attributed to all selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors—or SSRIs. Here’s what’s being reported in the press:

“These results, which suggest an overall class effect of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, are highly robust given the large number of users studied,” the study’s senior author, Dr. Anick Berard, said in a statement. (UPI.com)

The antidepressants that showed a particular association with miscarriage in the study were paroxetine (trade names: Seroxat and Paxil) and venlafaxine (trade names: Effexor, Efexor, Alventa, Argofan, Trevilor). The investigators also found that the risk of miscarriage doubled with a combination of different antidepressants.

Just for the record, the antidepressants “investigated” in the University of Montreal study are serotonin reuptake inhibitors (citalopram, fluoxetine, fluvoxa-mine, paroxetine and sertraline); tricyclic antidepressants (ami-triptyline, clomipramine, desipramine, doxepin, imipramine, nortriptyline, trimipramine), Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Celexa, Cymbalta, Effexor, Lexapro, paxil, paxil-heart-defects-newborn, Prozac, SNRI, SSRI, Zoloft
Posted in Drugs/Medical | No Comments »

Antidepressants: Know What They’re Winding You Up With

April 16th, 2010. By Kristine B

C’mon. You know you’ve seen that Pristiq ad once or twice—the one with that little wind-up doll (yes, the one with the circa-1970’s get-up that would drive any of us into a state of mild depression)—and you’ve thought to yourself, “Gee, I’ve had days when I kind of felt that way”. Admit it folks, you’ve been there—maybe not in mauve polyester, but you’ve been there.

Now, you may or may not have taken that thought to the next level: the “I need help” level. Most of us don’t. But if you have, you’ve most likely “talked to your doctor” as only “he can determine whether [fill in anti-depressant drug name here] is right for you”.

And if you’ve left your doctor’s office with a little slip of paper to be dropped off at the pharmacy, you may have been prescribed an SSRI, SNRI, NDRI or MAOI. Perhaps you’re feeling high as a kite on the hopes that you’ll be giddier than a glee club as soon as you get that scrip filled. But, take pause. For while you fantasize about your future mental state, do you really know what you’ve just been given?

What follows is a mini primer to the world of anti-depressants—and, as this is a legal news site, the links provided will lead you to information on safety concerns and some of the resulting litigation that’s gone on.

There are actually many different types of antidepressants. Not just the brand names, but the actual types of drugs themselves that work on different chemicals in the brain. Generally, antidepressants aim to reverse depressive symptoms and stabilize mood by increasing the amounts of certain chemicals that are found in the brain. The type of antidepressant depends on the chemicals being affected. 

Depression 

Although there is no one answer to the question, “What causes depression?” scientists believe that chemicals in the brain play a role in some forms of depression. The brain has several hundred types of chemical messengers—also called neurotransmitters—that send messages between brain cells. Of these, three neurotransmitters specifically are targeted by the various antidepressants, to different degrees. 

Serotonin is thought to play a role in controlling anxiety, mood, sleep, sexuality and appetite. 

Norepinephrine is thought to play a role in sleep and alertness and is also thought to play Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Antidepressant, Celexa, Cymbalta, Effexor, Lexapro, MAOI, NDRI, paxil, paxil-heart-defects-newborn, Pristiq, Prozac, SNRI, SSRI, Wellbutrin, Zoloft
Posted in Drugs/Medical, Emerging Issues | 3 Comments »