Suicide selective serotonin reuptake

Henry, JA and Rivas, CA (1999) SSRIs and suicide. In Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) Past, Present and Future (Ed. Stanford, SC), RG Landes Co., Austin, TX, pp. 95-109. 

Fergusson, Dean, Steve Doucette, Kathleen Cranley Glass, Stan Shapiro, David Healy, Hebert Paul and Brian Hutton, Association between Suicide Attempts and Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors Systematic Review of Randomised Controlled Trials , British Medical Journal 330 (2005) 396-99... 

Breggin, P. Suicidality, violence and mania caused by selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) A review and analysis. Int J Risk Saf Med 2004 16,31-49. 

Haddad P (1998) The SSRI discontinuation syndrome. J Psychopharmacol 12 305-313 Healy D (2003) Lines of evidence on the risks of suicide with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Psychother Psychosom 72 71-79... 

Tricyclic antidepressants are still prescribed today, but some patients experience side effects such as dry mouth, blurry vision, constipation, and other uncomfortable conditions. Other antidepressants have since been found that induce fewer side effects. One of the most popular is fluoxetine, which is marketed under the trade name Prozac. This drug, along with Zoloft and other antidepressants, are known to inhibit reuptake proteins specifically for serotonin. As a result, these drugs are called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs. Although some concerns have appeared because of a possible risk of suicide in young patients who take Prozac, these drugs are commonly prescribed and have proved highly effective in millions of patients. 

Giner L et al Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and the risk for suicidality in adolescents An update. Int J Adolesc Med Health 2005 17(3) 211. [PMID 16231472]... 

Wheeler BW et al The population impact on incidence of suicide and non-fatal self harm of regulatory action against the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in under 18s in the United Kingdom Ecological study. Br Med J 2008 336(7643) 542. [PMID 18276667]... 

No special indications for particular types of depression have been found for the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or other newer antidepressants. The popularity of these drugs, despite their higher cost, is due principally to their greater acceptance by patients. A provocative clinical report that fluoxetine use increased suicidal or aggressive ideation was not supported by subsequent analyses of massive data bases. Suicidal thoughts are part of the depressive syndrome. 

Fergusson, D., Doucette, S., Glass, K. C., Shapiro, S., Healy, D., Hebert, P., Hutton, B. 2005, Association between suicide attempts and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors systematic review of randomised controlled trials, Br.Med.J., vol. 330, no. 7488, p. 396. 

Gunnell, D., Saperia, J., Ashby, D. 2005, Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and suicide in adults meta-analysis of dmg company data from placebo controlled, randomised controlled trials submitted to the MHRA s safety review, Br.Med.f, vol. 330, no. 7488, p. 385. 

I warned the public and the health professions about the risk of SSRI antidepressant-induced suicidality in adults in Toxic Psychiatry (1991) and again in 1997 with a lengthy discussion in the first edition of this book. I elaborate in much greater detail on risk in 2003 in my scientific journal article Suicidality, Violence and Mania Caused by Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) A Review and Analysis. ... 

Juurhnk, D., Mamdam, M., Kopp, A., 8c Redeimeier, D. (2006). The risk of suicide with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in the elderly. American Journal of Psychiatry, 163, 813-821. 

Fluoxetine and other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have been associated with increasing suicidal ideation in some populations of patients. Recent studies have led the British Department of Health to warn physicians against using paroxetine off label. Fluoxetine was specifically exempted from this recommendation. Long-term studies of patients with depression who were treated with fluoxetine have shown it to be fairly well tolerated. Primary adverse effects include nausea (23%), headache (21%), and insomnia (20%). 

A controversial family of drugs at present, the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI, implicated in childhood suicide) have been followed using MRI to study choline metabolic rates . A common characteristic consistently revealed by MRS studies in cancer cells and solid tumours is the elevation of phosphatidyl choline and total choline-containing compounds - a possible target for early detection and therapy ... 

Because suicide is one of the leading causes of death in elderly people and in other populations, rapid and effective treatment of depression is warranted. Current therapies include the use of electroconvulsive (shock) therapy, psychiatric intervention, and antidepressant drugs such as tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), and serotonin-selective reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Recently, in the U.S., the use of St. John s wort (Hypericum perforatum) has become more prevalent, especially in the treatment of depression. 

---