Some drugs that are linked to violent behavior.
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Celexa Linked With Suicide, Suicidal Ideation and Violence
The SSRI Celexa has been linked with suicide, suicidal ideation and violence in children and teenagers. Celexa is used to treat depression. The antidepressant medication Celexa is thought to work by boosting serotonin levels in the brain. Serotonin, one of the nervous system's primary chemical messengers, is known to elevate mood. Celexa has been prescribed as a treatment for depression to more than 30 million patients worldwide, including 8 million in the United States.
Antidepressants increased the risk of suicidal thinking and behavior (suicidality) in short-term studies in children and adolescents with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and other psychiatric disorders. Anyone considering the use of Celexa or any other antidepressant in a child or adolescent must balance this risk with the clinical need. Patients who are started on therapy should be observed closely for clinical worsening, suicidality, or unusual changes in behavior. Families and caregivers should be advised of the need for close observation and communication with the prescriber. Celexa is not approved for use in pediatric patients.
On October 15, 2004, the FDA ordered that all antidepressants, such as Celexa, must carry the government's "black box" safety alert to warn that the drugs are linked to increased suicidal thoughts and behavior among children and teens. The warning came after two days of public hearings of the FDA's Psychopharmacologic Drugs and Pediatric Advisory Committees (PDAC), where testimony by victims, parents and experts, in combination with previous testimony from the PDAC's hearing in February was presented. The committee voted 15-to-8 for a "Black Box" warning for children and adolescents after reviewing clinical-trial data that showed the drugs are twice as likely as a placebo to cause suicidal thoughts or behavior.
Have you or a family member commited a violent act such as suicide or other act involving serious bodily injury or death after taking Celexa?
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Prozac and Suicide
The SSRI Prozac has been linked with suicide, suicidal ideation and violence in children and teenagers. Prozac belongs to a class of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which increase the level of the neurotransmitter serotonin that is absorbed by receptors in the brain. Depression has been linked to an imbalance of neurotransmitters, chemicals that allow nerve cells in the brain to communicate. By regulating the flow of serotonin, drugs like Prozac have been shown to alleviate many of the debilitating symptoms of depression and allow sufferers to function normally with few adverse reactions.
On March 4, 1993, two weeks after starting to take Prozac, William Forsyth stabbed his wife 15 times as she lay in bed, and then leaned on the knife to kill himself and commit suicide. Reginald Payne, 63, a teacher in Great Britain, suffocated his wife and cthrew himself off a cliff, committing suicide, in March 1996, after having taking Prozac for just 11 days.
Prozac Suicide Documents Are Damning
The documents discovered about PROZAC are particularly revealing:
1. Three years before PROZAC received approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a similar agency in Germany had such serious reservations about Prozac's safety that it refused to approve the antidepressant. Eli Lilly's studies showed that previously nonsuicidal patients who took the drug had a five-fold higher rate of suicide and suicide attempts than those on older antidepressants, and a three-fold higher rate than those taking placebos.
2. Lilly's own figures indicate that one in 100 previously nonsuicidal patients who took the drug in early clinical trials developed akathisia, causing them to attempt or commit suicide during the studies.
It has also been discovered that the patent for a new version of Prozac, which Eli Lilly paid $90 million to acquire, states that the new formulation would reduce "the usual adverse effects" of the original Prozac, including "nervousness, anxiety, insomnia, inner restlessness (akathisia), suicidal thoughts, self-mutilation, manic behavior."
Prozac was introduced by Eli Lilly to the U.S. market in January, 1988. Some 45,000 reports of adverse reactions to Prozac have been filed with the FDA. These include reports of about 2500 deaths, with the large majority linked to suicide or violence.
Physicians Report Prozac Suicidal Reactions
Dr. Martin Teicher of Harvard Medical School reported in 1990 that he and his colleagues had observed suicidal thoughts in six patients who were taking Prozac. More recently, Dr. David Healy, an expert on the brain's serotonin system and the director of the North Wales Department of Psychological Medicine at the University of Wales, estimated that "probably 50,000 people have committed suicide on Prozac since its launch, over and above the number who would have done so if left untreated."
Meanwhile, the drug companies continue to rely on a 1991 finding from an FDA advisory panel that "there is no credible evidence of a causal link between the use of antidepressant drugs, including Prozac, and suicidality or violent behaviour."
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Zoloft Might Be Cause of Suicide
The SSRI Zoloft has been linked with suicide, suicidal ideation and violence in children and teenagers. Zoloft is one of the more popular medications prescribed for major depressive disorder, which is a persistently low mood which interferes with everyday living. Symptoms frequently include loss of interest in your normal activities, disturbed sleep, changes in appetite, constant fidgeting or lethargic movement, fatigue, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, and difficulty thinking and concentrating. Zoloft may also be prescribed for a form of depression which has been referred to as premenstrual dysphoric disorder.
In the past decade or so, Zoloft has also been found to be effective in treating obsessive-compulsive disorder, which has symptoms that include unwanted thoughts that won't go away and an irresistible urge to keep repeating certain actions, such as handwashing or counting. Zoloft has also been prescribed for the treatment of panic disorder, and for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Zoloft is an antidepressant from the medication family referred to as selective serotonin uptake inhibitors. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter believed to regulate mood. Ordinarily, serotonin is quickly reabsorbed after its release back up into the releasing neuron (nerve cell). Zoloft, and other medications of this class block the process of "reuptake", therefore allowing an increased level of serotonin to be absorbed by the receiving neurons.
Some of the patients who have suffered an akathisia reaction have been driven to horrible deeds. Matthew Miller was a 13-year-old who committed suicide less than a week after starting to take Zoloft.
http://www.lawcash.com/lawsuits/injuries/zoloft-suicide.asp
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