Monday, August 23, 2004

Anti-depressant deaths increase (UK)
BBC story - "A popular anti-depressant has been linked with growing numbers of suicides and accidental overdoses, statistics show. Between 1993 and 2002, 118 people in England and Wales taking venlafaxine (Efexor) died - 17.6 deaths per million prescriptions. Although the rate is still lower than that associated with old-generation tricyclic drugs, it is rising, while the rate for tricyclics is falling. The figures were collected by the National Audit Office." See also the related story at The Guardian, Anti-depressant's link to suicide. The full study is available in the autumn issue of Health Statistics Quarterly (Adobe Acrobat format).  
  

Drug Prices Rise Twice as Fast As Rate of Inflation
Psychiatric News story - "Manufacturers' wholesale prices for 197 brand-name prescription drugs most frequently used by older Americans rose 3.4 percent during the first quarter of 2004, according to a report by AARP. Astudy released last month by AARP (formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons) found that manufacturers' wholesale prices for 197 brand-name prescription drugs most frequently used by older Americans rose 3.4 percent during the three-month period ending March 31, compared with a 1.2 percent rate of general inflation for the same period." See also the full report, Trends in Manufacturer Prices of Brand-Name Prescription Drugs Used by Older Americans–First Quarter 2004 Update (Adobe Acrobat format).