Brain Dysfunction and Shrinkage

Meanwhile, researchers and medical publicists continue to spin SSRI-induced abnormal neuronal growth as evidence of a therapeutic mechanism. A December 19, 2005, headline in a promotional bulletin called Johns Hopkins Medicine declared, Popular Antidepressants Boost Brain Growth, Hopkins Scientists Report. From the university s Office of Corporate Communications, this Johns Hopkins public relations release boasted about a newly published study by the medical center (Zhou et al., 2006). 

One of the authors, Vassilis Koliatsos, MD, explained, It appears that SSRI antidepressants rewire areas of the brain that are important 

The brain is the focus of this book but it is not the only organ injured by SSRI antidepressants. A recent study of 2,722 older women (mean age 78.5) found that the SSRIs drastically reduced their bone densities (Diem et al., 2007). The bone mineral density (BMD) decreased by 0.82% per year in SSRI users, compared to 0.47% in nonusers (p . 001). On the other hand, women using tricyclic antidepressants had the same BMD as nonusers. One wonders how this form of SSRI toxicity might be rationalized as therapeutic. Meanwhile, it is yet one more reason not to prescribe the drugs, especially to older people. 

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