Thursday, August 07, 2003

Debate Resumes on the Safety of Depression's Wonder Drugs
Front page feature article in today's New York Times - "Warnings by drug regulators about the safety of Paxil, one of the world's most prescribed antidepressants, are reopening seemingly settled questions about a whole class of drugs that also includes Prozac and Zoloft. Doctors are just beginning to react to the finding — reported first by British drug authorities in June and then endorsed the next week by the Food and Drug Administration — that unpublished studies about Paxil show that it carries a substantial risk of prompting teenagers and children to consider suicide." [Viewing New York Times resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Antidepressants Grow New Brain Cells
Reuters story at Yahoo - "Antidepressants may help stimulate the growth of new brain cells, U.S.-based scientists said on Thursday in releasing research that may lead to the development of better drugs to fight depression. Research on rats shows that two different classes of antidepressants can help brain cells regenerate -- and not in areas normally thought of as being involved in depression..." See also Creation of new neurons critical to antidepressant action in mice, a National Institute of Mental Health press release at EurekAlert - "Blocking the formation of neurons in the hippocampus blocks the behavioral effects of antidepressants in mice, say researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Their finding lends new credence to the proposed role of such neurogenesis in lifting mood. It also helps to explain why antidepressants typically take a few weeks to work, note Rene Hen, Ph.D., Columbia University, and colleagues, who report on their study in the August 8th Science. "  
  

University of Georgia research describes mental health among Guatemalan refugees 20 years after Civil War
University of Georgia press release at EurekAlert - "Twenty years after the 36-year long civil conflict in Guatemala, a University of Georgia-led research team found many refugees in Mexico still suffering from a variety of mental illnesses including Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression. They attribute a variety of factors including human rights violations, traumatic events and refugee status. The research was published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association." See also the full text of the article, Factors Associated With Poor Mental Health Among Guatemalan Refugees Living in Mexico 20 Years After Civil Conflict, part of the "theme" issue on violence and human rights noted here yesterday.  
  

US Immigrants Face Obstacles When Dealing with Mental Health Issues
Voice of America story, focusing on a Mexican-American neighborhood in Chicago - "...Although one in six people will experience a major episode of depression in their lifetime, fewer than half will seek treatment. According to the U.S. Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health, stigma prevents many from seeking care. But among American immigrants, poverty and language barriers also stand in the way.... "  
  

Mental health crisis
Opinion column by Jenelle Wilson in The Battalion, the newspaper of Texas A&M University on the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health's report - "The report could have remarkable and extensive effects on how the mentally ill are treated in the United States, if the national government follows through and applies the changes. Mental illness is too serious a problem and the system is too damaged to let the opportunity this report represents slip by..."