Thursday, September 04, 2003

Wyeth Warns Doctors about Drug Prescribed for Children
Story from The Record (Hackensack NJ) reprinted at PsycPORT - "Wyeth is alerting doctors about increased reports of hostility, suicidal thoughts, and self-harm in children who took its antidepressant, Effexor. The letter comes after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in June that no one under age 18 suffering from major depression should be prescribed Paxil, another popular antidepressant drug made by GlaxoSmithKline. The agency said then it was reviewing reports of a possible increase in suicide attempts with Paxil. An FDA spokeswoman said Wednesday it is reviewing clinical data regarding antidepressant use by children."  
  

Sex Differences May Not Be Important for Antidepressant Treatment
Medscape Medical News story - "Differentiation according to sex is not important in treatment with common antidepressants, according to the results of a study published in the September issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry. Although women with major and predominantly melancholic depression appeared to have higher plasma concentrations of tricyclic antidepressants than did men, the consequences of this difference for clinical effects are unclear." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].