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Antidepressants 'may harm sperm'
Drugs taken by millions of men to alleviate depression may affect their fertility, say US scientists.
A small number of healthy men given the antidepressant paroxetine for four weeks had far higher levels of sperm with damaged DNA.
The results, reported in New Scientist magazine, do not necessarily mean these men would have serious problems becoming a father.
However, a UK fertility specialist said they were a "cause for concern". Drugs taken by millions of men to alleviate depression may affect their fertility, say US scientists. ... more -
Antidepressants may harm male fertility
Antidepressants taken by millions of men could be impairing their fertility by causing damage to the DNA in their sperm.
In 2006, Peter Schlegel and Cigdem Tanrikut of the Cornell Medical Center in New York City reported that two men had developed low counts of healthy sperm after taking two different selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), the most commonly prescribed class of antidepressant.
Now Schlegel's team has given 35 healthy men doses of a third SSRI called paroxetine, sold as Seroxat or Paxil, over five weeks, and examined their sperm before treatment and four weeks in.
Superficially, the men's sperm seemed healthy - amounts of sperm and semen, and the shape and motility of sperm, were all normal. But when the team looked at DNA fragmentation in the sperm, using the TUNEL method, a worrying picture emerged. On average, the proportion of sperm cells with fragmented DNA rose from 13.8 per cent before taking paroxetine to 30.3 per cent after just four weeks.
Similar levels of sperm DNA damage have been linked to problems with embryo viability. For example, in couples undergoing IVF, studies have found that where the man has more sperm with damaged DNA, fewer embryos form and those that do are less likely to implant successfully into the woman's uterus.
As a result, fertility specialists regard a fraction of 30 per cent of sperm with DNA damage as being "clinically significant", says Douglas Carrell, a specialist in male infertility at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Antidepressants taken by millions of men could be impairing their fertility by causing damage to the DNA in their sperm. ... more -
Pharma Attacks Black Boxes as Antidepressant Sales Fall
In April, Dr. Catherine DeAngelis, editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), wrote that pharma’s influence on medicine “is so blatant now you’d have to be deaf, blind and dumb not to see it,” adding, “We should all get together and say, ‘Enough!’”
But an article in the Sept. 3 JAMA finds her not taking her own medicine.
Ever since 2004 when the FDA mandated black boxes on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants like Prozac and Paxil that warned of suicidal behavior in children and teens—causing sales to drop 25 percent—pharma has been on the warpath.
In a research letter in JAMA titled Suicide Trends Among Youths Aged 10 to 19 Years in the United States, 1995–2005, Jeffrey A. Bridge, Ph.D. of Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, Joel B. Greenhouse, Ph.D., of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pa., and three other authors continue pharma’s campaign against black boxes.
The warnings they say have actually increased suicide by scaring doctors and parents away from perfectly good drugs—kind of like how the withdrawal of diet-drug Phen-Fen is causing our national obesity.
Nor is Bridge, who spoke at a Lilly-sponsored conference on youth suicide in Switzerland in May, a stranger to JAMA’s pages with his pro-antidepressant message.
A study he headed in last April’s JAMA (Clinical Response and Risk for Reported Suicidal Ideation and Suicide Attempts in Pediatric Antidepressant Treatment) found “a much lower overall risk” of suicide than the FDA reports when “the potential benefit of these medications” was added.
In fact, the drugs should be “a first-line treatment option” says Bridge for the childhood scourges of major depressive disorder (MDD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)—which somehow didn’t exist before pharma had moneymaking drugs to treat them.
Do you know where your children are?
Joel Greenhouse also has a pro-antidepressant trail. He lent statistical support for a Lilly-funded article in the Aug. 18, 2004, JAMA (Fluoxetine, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, and Their Combination for Adolescents With Depression), which vindicated Lilly’s beleaguered Prozac for depressed adolescents when used in conjunction with cognitive-behavioral therapy.
And in April 2006, Greenhouse coauthored a study posted on ClinicalTrials.gov (Do Antidepressants Cause Suicidality in Children?) that while agreeing “an association between antidepressant use and an increased risk of suicidality” exists, concluded “that the evidence … is weak,” when analyzed with Bayesian hierarchical models.
Got that?
But in reporting the Bridge/Greenhouse research, news organizations were as vigilant in their vetting as JAMA—especially The Wall Street Journal. It quotes Kelly Posner, Ph.D., a Columbia University researcher “who says she doesn’t have any financial ties to drug companies”—she would know, right?—in an article about the JAMA research, corroborating that the suicide rise was seen “as soon as these warnings started,” and, “If you look at the whole evidence puzzle, it points in one direction—antidepressants save lives.”
Unfortunately, Posner’s “evidence puzzle,” according to a June 2007 paper in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (Texas Children’s Medication Algorithm Project), is a little fuzzier, with financial ties to 14 drug companies.
“Dr. Posner has received research support from GSK, Forest, Eisai, Z Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Wyeth-Ayerst Research, Organon USA, BMS, Sanofi-Aventis, Cephalon, Novartis, Shire Pharmaceuticals, and UCB Pharma,” says the paper.
Who can say “conflict of interest”?
********CONTINUES*********** In April, Dr. Catherine DeAngelis, editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), wrote that pharma’s influence on ... more -
Is there a correlation between psychiatric drug use and school massacres?
In September 2005, following confirmation that Red Lake Indian Reservation school shooter, Jeff Weise, was under the influence of the antidepressant Prozac, the National Foundation of Women Legislators, together with American Indian tribal leaders, called for a Congressional investigation into the correlation between psychiatric drug use and school massacres.
Congress has yet to investigate the role of psychiatric drugs relating to school shootings despite international drug regulators warning these drugs can cause mania, psychosis, hallucinations, suicide and homicidal ideation.
At least eight of the recent school shooters were under the influence of such drugs, and according to media reports, investigators working on the Virginia Tech school shootings, Cho Seung-Hui may also have been taking drugs for "depression."
Filmmaker Michael Moore has also called for a federal investigation into school shooters and psychiatric drugs In September 2005, following confirmation that Red Lake Indian Reservation school shooter, Jeff Weise, was under the influence of the ... more -
say no to the Mothers act!!!!!!
This act is supported by Obama
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Questionable use of antidepressants to treat PMS
A small new study shows antidepressants work within hours to dampen premenstrual anger and irritability. It usually takes several weeks for the drugs to start working in depression, and months before a maximum effect is achieved. A small new study shows antidepressants work within hours to dampen premenstrual anger and irritability. It usually takes several week... more
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Take two Prozac and e-mail me in the morning
Ah, the promise of e-mail! The minute I started giving out my address to my patients, I fantasized about how much time I would save on routine phone calls and how clear and unambiguous the communication would be.
Indeed, there was a honeymoon period. Could I change a Monday appointment for Wednesday? Of course. Would I phone in a renewal of Prozac? With pleasure. This was really neat: no more phone tag with patients, just simple requests with simple solutions.
Not for long.
"Dear Dr. Friedman," one patient e-mailed at 3 a.m. "I am having dark thoughts and wonder if I should increase my antidepressant. Can you let me know what you think?"
It was 8:30 that morning when I opened my e-mail and read her message with alarm. What exactly were "dark thoughts"? I wasn't sure, but I had to assume the worst — suicidal feelings or thoughts — and called her immediately.
She came in later that afternoon and explained that she felt bleak and hopeless and thought she and her family might be better off with her dead.
"Why didn't you call me right away?" I asked, as I recall the conversation.
Read more... Ah, the promise of e-mail! The minute I started giving out my address to my patients, I fantasized about how much time I would save on... more -
Sad pets need love and exercise - not drugs
The practice of prescribing medications designed for humans to animals has grown substantially over the past decade and a half, and pharmaceutical companies have recently begun experimenting with a more direct strategy: marketing behavior-modification and “lifestyle” drugs specifically for pets. America’s animals, it seems, have very American health problems. More than 20 percent of our dogs are overweight; Pfizer’s Slentrol was approved by the F.D.A. last year as the country’s first canine anti-obesity medication. Dogs live 13 years on average, considerably longer than they did in the past; Pfizer’s Anipryl treats cognitive dysfunction so that absent-minded pets can remember the location of the supper bowl or doggy door. For lonely dogs with separation anxiety, Eli Lilly brought to market its own drug Reconcile last year. The only difference between it and Prozac is that Reconcile is chewable and tastes like beef.
Doggy diet pills may be plainly absurd, but scientists in an expanding field known as behavioral pharmacology say that the combination of new drug therapies and progressive training techniques can solve problems that in the past almost always resulted in euthanasia. The supposed effectiveness of psychiatric medicines in treating mood and behavior issues is prompting new questions in the centuries-old debate over what, exactly, separates mankind from the beasts. If the strict Cartesian view were true — that animals are essentially flesh-and-blood automatons, lacking anything resembling human emotion, memory and consciousness — then why do animals develop mental illnesses that eerily resemble human ones and that respond to the same medications? What can behavioral pharmacology teach us about animal minds and, ultimately, our own?
Marketers have a new name for the age-old tendency to view animals as furry versions of ourselves: “humanization,” a trend that is fueling the explosive growth of the pet industry and the rise of modern pet pharma. Americans forked over $49 billion for pet products and services last year, up $11.5 billion from 2003; other than consumer electronics, pet products are the fastest-growing retail segment. The market expansion is being driven both by more pets and by more spending per pet, especially by affluent baby boomers whose children have graduated from college. A third of the total spending, and the fastest-growing category, is health care, with treatments formerly reserved for people — root canals, chemotherapy, liposuction, mood pills — being administered to pets.
“I get asked all the time, ‘What is it with this humanization — do we suddenly love our pets a whole lot more?’ ” says David Lummis, who analyzes the pet industry for the market research firm Packaged Facts. “My theory is that it’s always been there, but it’s been sanctioned now. It’s not just the crazy cat lady. It’s marketers and all of this consumer advertising that have made it O.K. to spend tons of money on your pet.”
Humanization has pharmaceutical companies salivating like Pavlov’s dogs. Surveys by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association found that 77 percent of dog owners and 52 percent of cat owners gave their animals some sort of medication in 2006, both up at least 25 percentage points from 2004. Sales of drugs for pets recently surpassed those for farm animals. Eli Lilly created its “companion animal” division at the beginning of 2007 and over the next three years hopes to release several other drugs. Pfizer, whose companion animal revenues have grown 57 percent since 2003 to nearly $1 billion, hopes to develop medications for pain, cancer and behavioral issues. Most consumer spending is still on traditional pet medications like antiparasitics, but Ipsos, a marketing research firm, estimates that at least $15 million was spent on behavior-modification drugs in the United States in 2005. The practice of prescribing medications designed for humans to animals has grown substantially over the past decade and a half, and ph... more -
Is the lady in your life a moody mare?Then dose her up with anti-depressants
Disturbing reports show that increasing numbers of women are being prescribed anti-depressants for PMS when they should be offered as a last resort, and may even be dangerous.
Pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) affects up to one in three women, and symptoms can include feelings of hopelessness, irritability, mood swings, aggression, loss of confidence, poor concentration, tiredness, breast tenderness, headaches, cramps and a desperate longing for chocolate. Ok, not really a desperate longing for chocolate, but those who procure said chocolate will be richly rewarded, Im sure...
Seriously though, PMS can be so severe that it seriously affects people lives, at work, at home and with partners,
"When I'm asked to fill in a list of symptoms for PMS and I get to 'irritability' it makes me laugh," says Laura, 42. "When I have PMS I'm not irritable. I'm ready to kill someone. My last boyfriend said there was no way he could be with me because of my PMS. It makes me abusive. Nothing triggers it, I just wake up incredibly angry. Then when my period comes, it stops."
It's a serious health problem, and one that needs careful treatment and sensitive support, but where they should first be advising lifestyle changes (improving diet, exercising and reducing stress), therapies like CBT, and hormone treatments like the pill and patches, GPs are reaching right for their prescription pads and instead offering anti-depressants to legions of women.
Are we back to the days of simply medicating the mad woman in the attic? Why are doctors offering such drastic treatment without consideration of the other options first? Have you had decent treatment for PMS, or were you seen as just another crazy lady? Disturbing reports show that increasing numbers of women are being prescribed anti-depressants for PMS when they should be offered as ... more -
Depression strikes more Americans than cancer, AIDS, or coronary heart disease
Depression strikes about 17 million American adults each year--more than cancer, AIDS, or coronary heart disease--according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). An estimated 15 percent of chronic depression cases end in suicide. Women are twice as likely as men to be affected.
Many people simply don't know what depression is. "A lot of people still believe that depression is a character flaw or caused by bad parenting," says Mary Rappaport, a spokeswoman for the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. She explains that depression cannot be overcome by willpower, but requires medical attention.
Fortunately, depression is treatable, says Thomas Laughren, M.D., team leader for psychiatric drug products in FDA's division of neuropharmacological drug products.
In the past 13 years, the Food and Drug Administration has approved several new antidepressants, including Wellbutrin (bupropion), Prozac (fluoxetine), Zoloft (sertraline), Paxil (paroxetine), Effexor (venlafaxine), Serzone (nefazodone), and Remeron (mirtazapine).
According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), 80 to 90 percent of all cases can be treated effectively. However, two-thirds of the people suffering from depression don't get the help they need, according to NIMH. Many fail to identify their symptoms or attribute them to lack of sleep or a poor diet, the APA says, while others are just too fatigued or ashamed to seek help.
Left untreated, depression can result in years of needless pain for both the depressed person and his or her family. And depression costs the United States an estimated $43 billion a year, due in large part to absenteeism from work, lost productivity, and medical costs, according to the National Depressive and Manic Depressive Association.
Diagnosing the Disease
Medical professionals generally base a diagnosis of depressive disorder on the presence of certain symptoms listed in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. The DSM (presently in the fourth edition) lists the following symptoms for depression:
* depressed mood
* loss of interest or pleasure in almost all activities
* changes in appetite or weight
* disturbed sleep
* slowed or restless movements
* fatigue, loss of energy
* feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt
* trouble in thinking, concentrating, or making decisions
* recurrent thoughts of death or suicide.
The diagnosis depends on the number, severity and duration of these symptoms. Depression strikes about 17 million American adults each year--more than cancer, AIDS, or coronary heart disease--according to the Nat... more -
Psychology Today: St. John's Wort: Perk Up Your Tea
Often, sipping a cup of hot tea is enough to take the edge off. But some herbal teas—particularly blends made with St. John's wort or valerian—deliver a bit more in the serenity department.
Improving your mood is just one benefit offered by a unique line of pharmaceutical herbal teas. Called Good Earth Medicinals, they have been proven safe and effective in helping to ease symptoms of the flu, insomnia, tension, colds and indigestion. Based on formulas developed by Swiss herbalist Johannes Kuenzle, they're produced in Europe under standards that are stricter than those in the U.S.—the ingredients are grown to pharmaceutical specifications and the packaging facilities hold a pharmaceutical license.
Read the full article here: http://psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20010301-000040... Often, sipping a cup of hot tea is enough to take the edge off. But some herbal teas—particularly blends made with St. John's wor... more -
Depressed? Light an Incense
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem have studied an isolate in frankincense, a resin derived from Boswellia serrata, and determined it has antidepressant properties. Though it has been amongst many other natural psychotropics used in religious ceremony, it has never before been studied for its psychoactive effects.
Read the whole story @ Reality Sandwich: http://www.realitysandwich.com/depressed_light_incense Researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem have studied an isolate in frankincense, a resin deri... more -
Antidepressants may cause lack of sensation in your crotch
Not being able to enjoy sex? Now that is something to be depressed about.
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Dirt is the new Prozac
This is a really interesting article! We all need to get out into our gardens and get our hands in the dirt--Oh yeah...
‘Friendly’ bacteria activated a group of neurons that produce the brain chemical serotonin.
Treatment of mice with a ‘friendly’ bacteria, normally found in the soil, altered their behavior in a way similar to that produced by antidepressant drugs, reports research published in the latest issue of Neuroscience.
These findings, identified by researchers at the University of Bristol and colleagues at University College London, aid the understanding of why an imbalance in the immune system leaves some individuals vulnerable to mood disorders like depression.
Dr Chris Lowry, lead author on the paper from Bristol University, said: “These studies help us understand how the body communicates with the brain and why a healthy immune system is important for maintaining mental health. They also leave us wondering if we shouldn’t all be spending more time playing in the dirt.” This is a really interesting article! We all need to get out into our gardens and get our hands in the dirt--Oh yeah... ... more -
Stop Faking It!!
A new study shows that anti-depressants only help a small group of the severely depressed. Which re-instates my theory of "mind over matter" aka the placebo-effect. So true. A new study shows that anti-depressants only help a small group of the severely depressed. Which re-instates my theory of "mind o... more
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Antidepressants
