One study of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class of anti-depressants like Paxil suggests the drugs may increase the risk of severe violence and the other study indicates the drugs can have damaging effects on the environment. SSRIs like Paxil have come under fire since 2004, when discovered they increased the risk of suicide in adolescents and children, a finding that only made them put a black-box warning on their label.
Now researchers are raising questions about the link between this SSRI drugs and violent behavior. The researchers looked specifically at GlaxoSmithKline`s Paxil and concluded the drug raises the risk of severe violence in a small percentage of people.
Other drugs in this class such as Prozac, Celexa, Zoloft and Effexor likely pose the same risk of violence.
The researchers would like big pharma coompany to share more data to help measure whether there are certain subpopulations that are vulnerable to violent behavior induced by these SSRI drugs like Paxil.The risk of severe violence is already noted on labeling, but has not been noted as a severe side effect.
In the study, the researchers looked at GSK`s clinical trial data and found a higher rate of hostile events in patients taking Paxil than in patients taking other anti-depressants. The rate of hostile events was even higher in healthy volunteers who were given Paxil, which suggests that people with low-grade or no symptoms may be most at risk of this side effect.
In a separate study, the National Institute of Standards and Technology`s Hollings Marine Laboratory in Charleston, S.C.looked at the environmental effects of Prozac, which can leach into lakes and streams via wastewater. The study concluded that the SSRI genre of drugs could potentially threaten the future of native freshwater mussels.
In the study, which is slated to be presented at the American Chemical Society meeting in San Francisco, researchers found that female freshwater mussels in laboratory tanks released their larvae prematurely when exposed to concentrations of Prozac that have been found in lakes and streams.
The endangered mussels play a key role in filtering the water of rivers and streams and are an important food source for several animals, including muskrats, otters, and fish. To date, no study has established a causal relationship between pharmaceuticals in the environment and risk to either human health or the environment.
