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Tuesday, February 03, 2004Its own analysis so far suggests 109 patients experienced one or more possibly suicide-related behaviors, FDA medical reviewer Dr. Thomas Laughren said. But some clearly weren't. Among 19 patients classified as cutting themselves, for instance, almost all were superficial, with little bleeding. So the FDA has hired Columbia University to help determine exactly how much true suicidal behavior occurred before it proposes next steps at a second public hearing in late summer..... ....But that didn't satisfy parents who demanded warnings on the drugs' labels. "You have an obligation today ... from preventing this tragic story from being repeated over and over again," said Mark Miller of Kansas City, Mo., whose 13-year-old son Matt hanged himself in his bedroom closet after taking his seventh Zoloft pill. "Please, save our children," said Todd Shivak of Michigan, whose 11-year-old son Michael slashed his wrists in class, but survived, while taking Paxil. But other parents have different stories to tell: "I ask that you appreciate the enormous benefit these medicines have had," said Sherri Walton of Arizona, whose daughter Jordan, 14, has used SSRIs in a yearslong battle with obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression. "Her medicines were sometimes the only things she could depend on to help her." Which is why policy shouldn't be founded on anecdotal evidence. There is a tendency, however, for adults to want to medicate away the normal angst of adolescence. And, like the pressure to prescribe antibiotics for viral conditions, or Ritalin for bad grades, it's all too easy for a doctor to succumb to the pressure to medicate away all bad feelings and behavior. Which is why this sentiment isn't a bad idea: "'We want to put a speed bump in the road,' said panel chair Dr. Matthew Rudorfer of the National Institute of Mental Health. 'The concern that many of us felt today was that the way the SSRIs and other newer antidepressants are being used now is such that the warnings as they exist in the current labeling are not adequate or are not being taken seriously.' posted by Sydney on 2/03/2004 07:21:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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