|
medpundit |
||
 |
 |
|
Thursday, January 22, 2004Last fall, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a recommendation against the use of Paxil in children under 18 and set up a task force to re-analyze studies to assess whether the benefits of this class of drugs outweigh possible risks. The FDA panel is to hold a public hearing on the issue Feb. 2. Meanwhile, the task force, composed of experts in child and adolescent psychiatry and suicidal behavior, analyzed half a dozen large studies on SSRIs involving a total of 2,000 children and found strong evidence the drugs are effective in alleviating depression and anxiety and do not pose a greater risk for suicidal thoughts or actions. 'We were perplexed by the United Kingdom's decision to ban the use of SSRIs in children,' said Dr. Joseph Coyle, a professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at Harvard Medical School and past president of the scientific group. 'Withholding what appears to be effective treatment for childhood depression can be clinically disastrous.' 'We can't think of a good reason why one SSRI [Prozac] should work better than another,' said Dr. J. John Mann, a professor of psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York and the other co-chairman of the task force. The panel of scientists recommends that doctors continue to use SSRIs to treat depression in children and adolescents and monitor benefits and side effects. The real danger in SSRI's is their over-use rather than their side-effects. There are a lot of parents and counselors out there who are eager to medicate away all the angst of adolescence. But, it's good to know that they're once again an option for the truly depressed teenager. posted by Sydney on 1/22/2004 09:33:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
|
