Tuesday, June 15, 2004

For consumers, a bitter pill to swallow
Newsday story - "Antidepressants are back in the news, with Americans, as usual, being tormented by contradictory messages about the drugs, now prescribed to more than 10 million children and adolescents annually, largely without Food and Drug Administration approval. This month, the National Institute of Mental Health issued a study showing that one member of the family of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, was effective for treating adolescent depression. That was comforting. The next day, the attorney general of New York sued GlaxoSmithKline, the maker of another SSRI, Paxil, for fraud, saying the firm had covered up unappealing safety problems in kids who took the medication, including some who had experienced suicidal thoughts or committed suicidal acts. That wasn't so comforting. The reasons behind these conflicting messages can and do fill millions of pages of legal briefs and clinical trial reports, with varying levels of clarity and veracity in both domains."