Friday, April 30, 2004

High Doses of Older Antidepressants Seen Risky
Reuters Health story at Yahoo - "There appears to be an association between the risk of sudden cardiac death and use of relatively high doses of the tricyclic type of antidepressants (TCAs), investigators report. However, the risk is not increased with the newer type of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), or TCAs at doses less than 100 milligrams per day, according to results of a study published in the Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics..."  
  

US Warns J&J on Claims About Antipsychotic Drug
Medscape Medical News story - "U.S. regulators have warned Johnson & Johnson unit Janssen Pharmaceuticals that a letter sent to doctors about its Risperdal drug to treat schizophrenia and bipolar mania is misleading. In a warning disclosed on Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration told Janssen that its November letter failed to disclose information added to Risperdal's labeling about excess blood sugar and diabetes and minimized the risk of serious events including coma and even death. The FDA also said the letter fails to recommend regular testing for diabetes and 'misleadingly claims that Risperdal is safer than other atypical antipsychotics.' " [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].