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Biotech / Medical : The Fraud of Biological Psychiatry -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: wlcnyc who wrote (326)	7/29/2003 9:16:34 AM
From: AugustWest	Respond to of 444

Paxil - Is It Safe for Children? NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., July 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The UK's Committee on Safety of Medicines recently issued a "Dear Colleague" letter advising physicians not to use paroxetine (Paxil), a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), to treat children and adolescents with depression. The FDA has recently followed suit. Should physicians stop prescribing paroxetine and perhaps other SSRIs in children and adolescents? According to "The Medical Letter on Drugs and Therapeutics," the recommendation made by the UK's Committee on Safety of Medicines was based on unpublished data from three clinical trials submitted to the FDA by GlaxoSmithKline to gain approval for use of paroxetine to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder in children. The data indicated that "emotional liability", a category of reactions that included various other symptoms in addition to thoughts of suicide and attempted suicide, occurred in 3.2% of children with paroxetine and 1.5% with placebo. Adverse effects of SSRIs, which include nausea, nervousness, insomnia and fatigue, are similar in children and adults. All antidepressants can cause mania in adults or children with underlying bipolar disorder. "There are no convincing data showing that SSRIs, including paroxetine, are any less safe in children than in adults," said Gianna Zuccotti, Deputy Editor of "The Medical Letter." "We feel that these drugs are much more likely to prevent suicide than to cause it." About The Medical Letter The Medical Letter Inc., a nonprofit organization founded in 1958, offers health care professionals objective, independent analyses of both prescription and over-the-counter drugs. In addition to its newsletters, "The Medical Letter on Drugs and Therapeutics" and "Treatment Guidelines from The Medical Letter," it also publishes handbooks and software on topics such as adverse drug interactions and antimicrobial therapy. The Medical Letter, Inc., is supported entirely by subscriber fees and is based in New Rochelle, NY. For more information about The Medical Letter call (800) 211-2769 or visit their Web site at www.medicalletter.org. SOURCE The Medical Letter Inc. -0- 07/29/2003 /CONTACT: Amanda McLaren of Kovak-Likly Communications, +1-203-762-8833, for The Medical Letter/ /Web site: medicalletter.org CO: The Medical Letter Inc. ST: New York IN: MTC HEA PUB SU: NPT CHI * end of story *