Thursday, June 17, 2004

NAMI Taskforce Report on Children and Psychotropic Medications
A new report from NAMI (in Adobe Acrobat format) - "In 2003, NAMI’s Policy Research Institute (NPRI) convened a task force of experts and stakeholders to consider issues related to the use of psychotropic medications for children and adolescents. Since then, the issue has exploded in the nation’s headlines, but not necessarily with the kind of precision that medical issues require. Our nation is currently experiencing a public health crisis in the number of youth with mental illnesses that fail to receive any treatment or services. The U. S. Surgeon General has warned that approximately 80% of youth with mental illnesses fail to receive any treatment or services. We have made major scientific advances in understanding how to properly diagnose and treat mental illnesses in children, but more needs to be done..."  
  

FDA Panel Backs Implant To Counter Depression
Washington Post story - "A surgical implant that stimulates the brain should get government approval to treat chronic depression, an expert panel of federal experts said yesterday -- marking the first time an implanted device has been recommended for the treatment of a psychiatric disorder. Using a technique known as vagus nerve stimulation, the device uses electrodes implanted in the neck to activate brain regions that are believed to regulate mood. The decision by an expert advisory panel of the Food and Drug Administration came after a day of clashing scientific opinions about whether the data submitted by the manufacturer were adequate for approval. Proponents of the device prevailed, citing the desperate need of patients with chronic depression that does not respond to existing treatments." [Viewing Washington Post stories requires registration, which is free.]  
  

Under Pressure Glaxo Publishes Paxil Data
Reuters Health story at Yahoo - "GlaxoSmithKline, responding to a lawsuit claiming it suppressed negative data about its antidepressant Paxil, published results of trials showing the drug is broadly ineffective in children and adolescents and could increase risks of suicidal behavior. The British drugmaker released data from nine pediatric trials on its Web Site after New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer filed suit two weeks ago accusing Glaxo of fraudulently suppressing the information. Glaxo has denied the allegations, saying it publicized the results either in medical journals or at scientific meetings. The data released by Glaxo earlier this week showed Paxil to be mostly ineffective in treating youngsters." See also the related AP story at Yahoo, Paxil Said Ineffective for Depressed Kids.  
  

Drug Firms Trying to Make Painkillers Less Abusable
June 13 Washington Post story - "Millions of Americans suffer from intense but poorly treated pain that could be helped by today's broad array of morphine-based prescription painkillers. Millions of others abuse prescription narcotics, using them to get high rather than to ease pain, and many become addicted. This dilemma -- that legal painkillers are both under-used and abused -- has become a pressing issue since the introduction in the mid-1990s of the extended-release opioid OxyContin. The drug has provided enormous relief to many pain sufferers and could help many more, but it has also become a drug of choice for many addicts, who promptly discovered how to disable the extended-release aspect of the drug to get high on the enhanced dose. With the problem now clearly identified, dozens of researchers have embarked on a difficult and high-stakes race to find ways to keep the benefits of prescription painkillers available to pain sufferers while eliminating or reducing the possibility for abuse..." [Viewing Washington Post stories requires registration, which is free.]  
  

Health Canada advises Canadians of stronger warnings for SSRIs and other newer anti-depressants
June 3 Health Canada advisory - "Health Canada is advising Canadians that Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) and other newer anti-depressants, now carry stronger warnings. These new warnings indicate that patients of all ages taking these drugs may experience behavioural and/or emotional changes that may put them at increased risk of self-harm or harm to others. The new warning for each of these drugs, which are listed below, appears in the information package received by patients and in the prescribing information available to health professionals." The drugs listed are Bupropion (Wellbutrin® and Zyban®), Citalopram (Celexa®), Fluoxetine (Prozac®), Fluvoxamine (Luvox®), Mirtazapine (Remeron®), Paroxetine (Paxil®), Sertraline (Zoloft®), and Venlaflaxine (Effexor®).