Posts Tagged ‘ SSRI ’

Criminal Medicine: Best Defense, Sadly, is a Good Offense

October 6th, 2010. By LucyC

If finding the right medication feels a bit like a minefield lately, it’s no wonder.

It’s not been a banner time for Pharma—these past few years. So many drugs and medical products in general seem to be linked with serious, if not life-threatening adverse events. You may recognize some of the names on the hit parade: drugs such as Accutane and a possible link with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); proton pump inhibitors (antacid drugs) and increased risk for hip fractures; Reglan and its link with Tardive Dyskinesia; Byetta—a diabetes medication linked with kidney failure… 

And of course no list would be complete without Avandia—another diabetes medication—and its infamous association with serious, sometimes fatal cardiovascular events. 

Oh—there’s also allegations surrounding the class of antidepressants known as SSRIs and links with newborn heart defects. In fact the list is exhaustive.  

And to be clear, it’s not just drugs. Products such as the DePuy metal hip replacement are also in trouble. DePuy is currently facing a class action lawsuit over failure rates seen with its ASR acetabular cup. DePuy, which is owned by Johnson & Johnson, has also had global product recalls.

Gadolinium is another one. It’s a clear, non-radioactive chemical compound used with patients undergoing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). In 1988 the FDA approved gadolinium as a contrast agent to provide a clearer picture of organs and tissues. Since that time, more than 200 cases of Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF) or Nephrogenic Fibrosing Dermopathy (NFD) have been linked to the product. 

This week, news out on Bloomberg indicates that the powers that be at Pfizer Inc, ‘failed to properly warn doctors and consumers that its Prempro menopause drug could cause Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Accutane, Avandia, Byetta, DePuy, DePuy Orthopaedics Metal Hip Replacement, Drugs, Gadolinium, Medical, Norian SRS, Prempro, Proton Pump Inhibitors, Reglan, SSRI
Posted in DePuy ASR Hip Recall, Drugs/Medical | No Comments »

Prescription Drugs as Birth Control

June 8th, 2010. By Hunter West

Can a medication designed to minimize epileptic seizures, serve as birth control? 

Can an antidepressant, also serve as birth control? 

Indirectly, yes—if women who depend on various drugs to stabilize their lives opt to shun having children rather than risk the possibility of birth defects. 

It’s an interesting conundrum—that a society that depends more and more on various drugs to treat our diseases and keep us living longer, might suffer a detrimental effect on birth rates and experience a shrinkage of the population. 

But while the long-term effect may be less dramatic, the short-term debate is no less real. 

There are various drugs that are designed to treat specific conditions, such as valproate for the treatment of bipolar disorder, or migraine headaches. While the drug, marketed as Depakote, is without doubt effective for the treatment for that for which it was intended, it can also have a devastating effect on a fetus if taken by an expectant mother. 

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) noted in December of last year, “Valproate use during early pregnancy increases the risk of major malformations in the baby,” the FDA said. “The rates for neural tube defects in babies exposed to valproate during the first trimester are 30 to 80 times higher than the rate for neural tube defects in the general US population. In pregnant women with epilepsy, valproate monotherapy is associated with a four-fold higher rate of major malformations than other antiepileptic drug monotherapies. 

“Healthcare professionals should counsel women of childbearing potential taking valproate about the increased risk of major malformations…” 

A far more common drug is the SSRI antidepressant. Critics of antidepressants and the doctors who prescribe them, say that antidepressants are over-prescribed. While there is little doubt many individuals would not be able to get through the day without potentially doing harm to Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Antidepressants, depakote, SSRI, valproate
Posted in Drugs/Medical | No 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 »

Antidepressant Guide: the Brands, the Generics & Who Makes Them

May 6th, 2010. By Kristine B

These days, there are many drugs to keep track of. It’s not just the brand name drug anymore; patients could be taking a generic equivalent. So, this week, Pleading Ignorance looks at the SSRIs and SNRIs to give you the brand name, manufacturer, generic version and the generic’s manufacturer. Consider it your one-stop cheat sheet on some of the more commonly prescribed antidepressants.

Brand name	Ingredient	Made By	Generic	Made By
Celexa (SSRI)	citalopram hydrobromide	Forest Laboratories	citalopram	Eon Labs, Inc., Aurobindo Pharma Limited, Purepac Pharmaceutical Co., Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Limited, Corepharma LLC
Lexapro (SSRI)	escitalopram oxalate	Forest Laboratories	escitalopram	Alphrapharm
Paxil/Seroxat    (SSRI)	paroxetine hydrochloride	GlaxoSmithKline	paroxetine	Apotex, Alphapharm, Teva, Aurobindo Pharma, Zydus Pharms USA, Caraco
Prozac (SSRI)	fluoxetine hydrochloride	Eli Lilly and Company	fluoxetine	ESI Lederle (tentative approval)
Symbyax (SSRI)	olanzapine and fluoxetine hydrochloride	Eli Lilly and Company	olanzapine/ fluoxetine	Teva Pharms (tentative approval, July 17, 2007)
Zoloft (SSRI)	sertraline hydrochloride	Pfizer Pharmaceuticals	sertraline	Dr Reddy’s Labs Ltd, Teva, Genpharm, Aurobindo Pharma, Sandoz and many others
Zyprexa (atypical antipsychotic)	olanzapine	Eli Lilly and Company	olanzapine	All tentative approval: Dr. Reddy’s Labs Inc, Teva Pharms, Mylan PHarma, Sandoz, Barr Pharms, Roxane
Cymbalta (SNRI)	duloxetine hydrochloride	Eli Lilly and Company	duloxetine	No generic so far as I can tell
Effexor (SNRI)	venlafaxine	Wyeth	venlafaxine hydrochloride	Aurobindo, Mylan, Teva, Dr Reddy’s Labs Ltd, Caraco and others

The information in the chart above was found at either drugs@fda, or on the individual drug manufacturer’s website. As far as I can tell, this information is correct as of the date it was written—and it is not intended to replace the information you might receive from your doctor or medical practitioner (hey, have to say it, we’re a legal site). Talk to your doctor or pharmicist for medical advice.

Tags: Antidepressants, Celexa, Cymbalta, Effexor, Lexapro, paxil, paxil-heart-defects-newborn, Pleading Ignorance, Prozac, SSRI, Symbyax, Zoloft, Zyprexa
Posted in Drugs/Medical, Emerging Issues | 1 Comment »

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 »