Britain Alerts World: Stop Paxilating children!

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders » Obsessive Compulsive » Britain Alerts World: Stop Paxilating children!

Question:

"The Gal with 1009 Nyms" <TGW1009N…@Nospam.com> wrote in message <news:788dac9256d057c0762706853a4ebce1@free.teranews.com>… > "Byte Me" <byte…@nana.com> wrote in message > news:ZcKFa.1710$PD3.19545@nnrp1.uunet.ca… > > From todays NY Times…. > > Britain Says Use of Paxil by Children Is Dangerous > > By GARDINER HARRIS

Giving drugs of this sort to kids is dangerous, period. Arak /|

Response:

"Byte Me" <byte…@nana.com> wrote in message

news:ZcKFa.1710$PD3.19545@nnrp1.uunet.ca… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> From todays NY Times…. > Britain Says Use of Paxil by Children Is Dangerous > By GARDINER HARRIS > British drug regulators warned yesterday that GlaxoSmithKline’s popular > antidepressant Paxil causes depressed children to become more suicidal > and should not be prescribed for them. > That conclusion came from the combined results of nine studies on Paxil, > known as Seroxat in Britain, that the company recently submitted to > British regulators. > "It has become clear that the benefits of Seroxat in children for the > treatment of depressive illness do not outweigh these risks," the > statement from the British government’s Medicines and Healthcare > Products Regulatory Agency said. "The implications of the new pediatric > data on the safety of paroxetine (Paxil) in the adult population remains > under close review." > Alan Metz, vice president for clinical development at Glaxo, said the > company was not warning American doctors against using the drug for > depressed children. He noted that Paxil was not approved in the United > States for treating children but that many doctors prescribed the drug > for children anyway. "It’s difficult for me sitting here to tell doctors > what they should do with their patients," Dr. Metz said. > Glaxo, the British drug maker, has applied for permission from the Food > and Drug Administration in the United States to sell Paxil to children > who suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder. That application is > pending. Paxil has become increasingly controversial in Britain. > The British drug agency recently required Glaxo to remove a statement on > its patient label saying that the drug was not addictive. > Patients who stop taking Paxil suddenly often experience dizziness, > abnormal dreams, headaches and nervousness. In Britain, these are called > "withdrawal symptoms" and in the United States they are called > "discontinuation symptoms," Dr. Metz said. > Paxil is part of a class of drugs that includes Prozac and Zoloft. For > years, lawsuits have contended that the drugs tend to increase violence > and suicidal thoughts in vulnerable populations, but the makers of the > pills have long denied this. Two years ago, a Wyoming jury awarded $6.4 > million to the family of a patient taking the pill who killed his wife, > daughter and granddaughter. According to the studies, patients taking > Paxil were 1.5 to 3.2 times more likely to have suicidal thoughts or > episodes of self-harm compared with those taking a placebo. > The rate of suicidal behavior among those taking Paxil was lower than > the normal rate of such behavior among depressed children who got no > treatment at all, Dr. Metz said. This is true because treatment – even > with dummy pills – can be highly effective against depression. > None of the children in the studies succeeded in committing suicide. > Paxil is GlaxoSmithKline’s largest-selling drug. The company is in the > midst of a legal fight to retain its exclusive hold over Paxil’s selling > rights in the United States.