UK Telegraph: Antidepressant risks to adults and under 18's may have been seriously underestimated

[nationalize the fed]

Antidepressants can raise the risk of suicide, biggest ever review finds

Antidepressant use doubles the risk of suicide in under 18s and the risks to adults may have been seriously underestimated, researchers found

UK Telegraph Sarah Knapton, Science Editor 27 Jan 2016



Antidepressants can raise the risk of suicide, the biggest ever review has found, as pharmaceutical companies were accused of failing to report side-effects and even deaths linked to the drugs.

An analysis of 70 trials of the most common antidepressants - involving more than 18,000 people - found they doubled the risk of suicide and aggressive behaviour in under 18s. Although a similarly stark link was not seen in adults, the authors said misreporting of trial data could have led to a ‘serious under-estimation of the harms.

"It is absolutely horrendous that they have such disregard for human lives."
Professor Peter Gotzsche, Nordic Cochrane Centre

For years families have claimed that antidepressant medication drove their loved ones to commit suicide, but have been continually dismissed by medical companies and doctors who claimed a link was unproven.

The review - the biggest oif its kind into the effects of the drugs - was carried out by the Nordic Cochrane Centre and analysed by University College London (UCL) who today endorse the findings in an editorial in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

After comparing clinical trial information to actual patient reports the scientists found pharmaceutical companies had regularly misclassified deaths and suicidal events in people taking anti-depressants to "favour their products"...snip

"People in the United Kingdom are consuming more than four times as many antidepressants as they did two decades ago"
Dr Joanna Moncrieff, University College London

Read More: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/12126146/Antidepressants-can-raise-the-risk-of-suicide-biggest-ever-review-finds.html

Mandatory warning label:


When these white collar criminals can't "misclassify" deaths and studies, they resort to bribes. But we are all supposed to trust them anyway. F that. TRUST NO ONE

Big Pharma's Pathetic Medical Bribes are Quite Profitable
Pharmaceutical companies are low-balling how much they pay doctors by misspelling the names of their drugs in their reports to the federal government.
http://www.alternet.org/drugs/big-pharma-simple-trick-obscuring-medical-bribes

GlaxoSmithKline fined $490m by China for bribery
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-29274822

What's driving Pharma's international bribery scandals?
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/healthcare/Whats-driving-Pharmas-international-bribery-scandals.html

Drug Company Accused of Bribing Doctors
Eleven current or former sales executives from TAP Pharmaceutical Products are going on trial, accused of paying kickbacks to doctors and hospitals to get them to buy the company's medications...
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=131602

[malaise]

1. Read this in the Guardian

The pro-life crowd only focus on life before birth.

[JesterCS]

14. Intresting. I was started on Luvox back when I was 13 or 14

Within a few days I knew something wasn't right. I felt way worse. Stopped taking it. Now i'm 34 years old and have been taking Lexapro since I was in my early 20s


Bah replied to wrong one, meant for OP

[denem]

2. Correlation does not prove causation.

Keeping an open mind, it seems reasonable that more severely depressed people would be prescribed anti-depressants, compared those less obviously ill.

The patents on nearly every anti-depressant expired years ago, so there's not much money in it for Pharma: $10/90days. But there is unrelenting pressure on Family Doctors to get through as many consultations as possible. Important issues, like abuse at home, bullying at school, seldom get a a look in - issues very relevant to teens

Pharma has a shameful record. Pop a magic pill like Valium, left millions in wretched misery. The correlation between depression and suicide is iron clad, the independent impact of anti-depressants less so. No ethics board on earth would allow a double blind trial, so there is only anecdotal, and correlation evidence

Q: Doctor I lost my job, and the bank is foreclosing. A: Celexa 40mg a day. Q: Army PTSD? A: Seroquel. Suppose both successfully suicide. The failure of the healthcare system goes way beyond meds.

[Gormy Cuss]

9. Drug manufacturers wouldn't put a warning on the label unless the data supported it.

IOW, there is at minimum a strong enough correlation to be concerned about the potential side effect or in the case of adolescent usage there may be a lack of clinical data to support its use in that population and thus it is not recommended for that population..

Zoloft is clearly labeled as contraindicated for adolescents yet it gets prescribed to them anyway. I've seen one teen react badly and suicidally while on Zoloft. Switching to a different drug stopped the suicidal impulses while adequately treating the depression.

[azurnoir]

3. it's always struck me as 'odd' that listed side effect of anti-depressants is

may 'cause suicidal thoughts or actions' moreover these these drugs are very frequently mis-prescribed they were meant to treat clinical depression where an actual ongoing imbalance of brain chemistry is involved, however they are being prescribed to treat what is in reality situational depression, lose your job , significant other, death of a loved one, things that would or could be more properly treated with talk therapy-yet MD's are encourage to simply prescribe 'get happy pills' to patients -myself I think a goodly share of the blame falls on insurance companies at least in the US after all which costs them less

[spinbaby]

4. I often wonder...

...if the reason they're linked to suicide is that they make severely depressed people feel better so they finally have the energy to commit suicide.

I worry more about the addictive qualities of these drugs. I was prescribed Paxil years ago for menopause-related insomnia. It didn't do a thing for insomnia, but quitting had severe side effects.

[MisterP]

7. that is often the finding, that suicide happens as one emerges from depression

it's the prospect of ever, EVER feeling that empty, worthless, and already-dead

marketizing psychology and psychiatry doesn't help, either--pills are more "scientific" and just less hassle, paperwork, and coding for the offices that aren't swimming in money: it's quantitative and something that makes nice statistics--dosage in, improvement and suicides out, so you can bring the first result's numbers up and the second's down

even the "neurotransmitter replacement" theory of psychopharms is iffy--but they definitely replace your transmitters so weaning's a tricky business

(and just think, back in 2004 even broaching this subject on DU brought a bunch of newcomers out of the woodwork to bellow SCIENTOLOGIST PUPPET at anyone ; wonder where all these guys went once the black box label went on...)

[Mosby]

10. the chemical imbalance "theory" of depression

Lacks supporting evidence, even after 50 plus years of research.

[azurnoir]

11. from mayo

Brain chemistry. Neurotransmitters are naturally occurring brain chemicals that likely play a role in depression. Recent research indicates that changes in the function and effect of these neurotransmitters and how they interact with neurocircuits involved in maintaining mood stability may play a significant role in depression and its treatment.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/basics/causes/con-20032977

however my point is that pharma therapy is being used as a cure all panacea in cases where other firms of therapy may well be more appropriate because it's cheaper

[FLPanhandle]

5. The lawyers will be lining up now

Every suicide past and present will be a class action lawsuit.

[nationalize the fed]

6. Might extend beyond suicides

SSRI Stories is a collection of over 6,000 stories that have appeared in the media (newspapers, TV, scientific journals) in which prescription drugs were mentioned and in which the drugs may be linked to a variety of adverse outcomes including violence.

Show Stories by Popular Category

Celebrity
Drugging children
Murder-suicide http://ssristories.org/category/cause-of-death/murder-suicide/
Pilot
Postpartum reaction
Road rage
School or other mass shooting http://ssristories.org/category/violence/school-or-other-mass-shooting/
Soldier
Suicide
Women teacher molestations
Workplace violence

http://ssristories.org/

[Octafish]

8. How is this possible?

I read on DU Big Pharma really does good and stuff, besides the price gouging.



Rumsfeld was head of G.D. Searle when vising Saddam on behalf of Reagan/Bush back in the day.

[nationalize the fed]

12. +1

There seems to be a distinct lack of interest in this criminal conduct by our Science Uber Alles members. Maybe they're ok with fudging various studies. Not that I care a bit-it's as if they don't exist. Sometimes some of them appear to be working for the opposition when they attack, because you don't win converts by acting like a jerk. Surely some know this, but they persist. It would be amusing if it wasn't such a life and death matter.

Rumsfeld was head of G.D. Searle when vising Saddam on behalf of Reagan/Bush

One Big Giant FlusterCluck

G.D. Searle, LLC is a wholly owned trademark of Pfizer. It is currently used mainly as a distribution trademark for various pharmaceuticals that were developed by G. D. Searle & Company. Prior to its 1985 merger with Monsanto, Searle was a company focusing on life sciences, specifically pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and animal health.

...Donald Rumsfeld served as CEO, and then as President, of Searle between 1977 and 1985. During his tenure at Searle, Rumsfeld reduced the number of employees in the company by 60%. In 1985, he engineered the acquisition of Searle by Monsanto Corporation. In April 2000, Pharmacia Corporation was created by merging Pharmacia & Upjohn (which had come about as the result of an earlier merger of the companies Pharmacia and Upjohn) with Monsanto and its Searle unit. The merged company was based in Peapack, New Jersey. Pfizer acquired Pharmacia in 2003 and retired the Searle name...

...Robert B. Shapiro acted as general counsel for the firm from 1979 onwards, where he went on develop Searle's aspartame product under the brand name NutraSweet. He became CEO of its NutraSweet subsidiary in 1982...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.D._Searle,_LLC

Rummy probably wouldn't know anything about bribery. By the way, the older people need to tell younger people that once upon a time, the US had what were called "Anti Trust" policies, before the RayGun crowd basically eliminated them from the national vocabulary.

Have you had your GMO Aspertame today? ROFL what a circus

[daleo]

13. My nephew shot and killed himself, after starting ssri meds

Early 20s. Very sad. He was a bit shy - they call that social anxiety disorder, now.

[JesterCS]

15. I have SAD

It's no fun. I'm 34 and still never had a good relationship with a woman. The anxiety is petrifying

[daleo]

17. He had a girlfriend, and a nice one too

She found his body.

I am not saying the condition doesn't exist, just that it is over diagnosed. Also, that SSRIs can do more harm than good, in those cases.

[Overseas]

16. K&R. We need access to data from all clinical trials.

http://www.alltrials.net/news/alltrials-at-evidence-live-2015/

Ben Goldacre talks about an antidepressant.

[nationalize the fed]

18. +1