Pfizer's Zoloft Effective for
Obsessive-Compulsive Kids
Bloomberg News
November 24, 1998, 1:47 p.m. PT
Pfizer's Zoloft Effective for Obsessive-Compulsive Kids
Chicago, Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Pfizer Inc.'s depression
drug Zoloft is a safe and effective treatment for children with
obsessive-compulsive disorder, a new study shows.
Although the drug is widely used for adults with obsessive-
compulsive disorder, known as OCD, this is the first large
clinical trial in children and adolescents. OCD affects about one
in 200 children, causing persistent and irrational worries that
trigger repetitive behavior like hand washing to alleviate the
concerns.
Dr. John S. March from Duke University Medical Center in
Durham, North Carolina, and his colleagues gave the drug or
placebo to 187 patients for 12 weeks. The superiority of Zoloft
was seen for most patients at about the third week of treatment,
with 42 percent on the drug ''very much or much improved,''
compared with 26 percent on placebo.
The average patient remained mildly ill even after taking
Zoloft, the researchers said, recommending a combination of drug
therapy and psychotherapy for children with the disease. Side
effects, including insomnia, nausea, agitation and tremor, also
were significantly more common among treated patients.
''Although current treatments are not generally curative,
given a correct diagnosis and skillful treatment most children
and adolescents with OCD will improve considerably,'' they said.
The study, sponsored by New York-based Pfizer, appears in
tomorrow's Journal of the American Medical Association.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is pushing
pharmaceutical companies to test products in children since most
new drugs get to the market without conclusive proof of safety
and effectiveness for younger users. Doctors nonetheless
prescribe the drugs for kids because newer products often are
considered superior.
Eli Lilly & Co.'s Prozac, SmithKline Beecham Plc's Paxil and
Forest Laboratories Inc.'s Celexa, also marketed by Warner-
Lambert Co., all work in similar ways to Zoloft and together
dominate the $8.4 billion worldwide market for depression drugs.
--Michelle Fay Cortez in Ithaca, New York (607) 272-1174, through |
