suicidal, on the drug.
By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter
Monday, October 16, 2006; 12:00 AM
Copyright © 2006
ScoutNews, LLC (Related) . All rights
reserved.
MONDAY, Oct. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists have uncovered
clues as to why children and adolescents may get more aggressive or
even suicidal while taking the widely prescribed antidepressant
Prozac.
A new study has found that juvenile hamsters became aggressive
on low doses of Prozac (fluoxetine) but less aggressive on high
doses. By contrast, adult hamsters were calm on both high and low
doses of the drug.
The bottom line: Adult and juvenile brains are different.
While intriguing, the study has some clear limitations, experts
cautioned.
"Just remember that a hamster is a hamster is a hamster," said
Dr. Jon Shaw, director of child and adolescent psychiatry at the
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
Which is not to say that the findings don't have some value.
"There are a lot of studies on the maturation and evolution of
the central nervous system structure through adolescence, and
nobody thinks the adult brain is [the same as] the child's brain.
And this just reminds us that other studies are needed to try and
understand what the difference means in terms of metabolism of
drugs," Shaw added.
Pediatric use of antidepressant medications -- especially a
newer class of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
(SSRIs), of which Prozac is a member -- has been the subject of
extended controversy.
In October 2004, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration directed
manufacturers of SSRIs, which include Celexa, Paxil, Prozac and
Zoloft, to put a special "black-box" warning on the drugs'
labeling. The warning alerts health-care providers about an
increased risk of suicidality in children and teens using the
medications.
In July 2005, the FDA issued a public health advisory that
raised the possibility that the risk of suicidality also applied to
adults taking SSRIs, after several studies pointed to that
possibility.
Other studies, however, have found a lower incidence of youth
suicide related to Prozac and other SSRIs. Prozac is the only
medication approved to treat depression in children and
adolescents.
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