Celexa Linked to Birth Defects

Oakland, CAWith the renewed importance for a quality university or college education as a prerequisite to make one's way in an increasingly globalized world, recent news about a small study linking the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) antidepressants during pregnancy to autism in newborns has been greeted with wary caution. Wariness born from the diminutive size of the study (further study with larger sample sizes are required) and caution with regard to Celexa Linked to Birth Defects.

As potential birth defects go, this is a relatively new one.

Celexa Articles over the years have pointed to various physical birth defects linked to the use of SSRI antidepressants. While such defects can be grievous, many can be successfully corrected with surgery.

A cognitive impairment is another matter, and one that often requires lifelong management in an effort to circumvent the autism, work around it, make allowances for it.

Can autism be overcome? Over time, various Celexa Interviews with autism patients borne from mothers who used Celexa early in their pregnancy could yield some insights.

In the meantime, the potential for autism in Celexa infants is certain to draw fire from antidepressant advocates who maintain good mental health on the part of the mother is integral.

"Poor maternal mental health during pregnancy is a major public health issue," says Tim Oberlander, MD, a professor of developmental pediatrics at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. "Nontreatment is not an option. While some children might be at risk from an SSRI exposure—and we don't know who, and how that works—there are many mothers and their children as well who will benefit."

Study authors, as well as health advocates, agree that the study suggesting a link between SSRI antidepressants and autism is very small, and no verifiable conclusions can be drawn.

The findings—however inconclusive they may be due to the small sample size—are worrisome nonetheless. The study, which appeared in the Archives of General Psychiatry, suggests that children whose mothers used an SSRI antidepressant such as Celexa during pregnancy were twice as likely as other children to present with a diagnosis for autism.

However, the study does not prove causation. While larger studies are undertaken, health advocates advise women prone to depression and on SSRI medication such as Celexa to consult with their doctor if a pregnancy is planned, imminent or underway.

Lead author of the study was identified as Dr. Lisa Croen PhD, director of autism research at Kaiser Permanente in California. "This is the first study of its kind to look at the association, and the findings have to be interpreted with a lot of caution," she said in comments published earlier this summer. "We can't detect causality from one study."