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SSRIs
The following articles have the tag SSRIs
Fetal growth affected by SSRIs in pregnancy
A STUDY of pregnant women taking SSRIs for depression has found an improvement in their depressive symptoms but reduced fetal head growth and a higher risk for preterm birth in their offspring.
More concerns over neonatal SSRI risks
WOMEN who take SSRIs in pregnancy have a two-fold increased risk of preterm delivery, according to a Danish study. The finding is the latest to raise questions about the impact of SSRIs on neonates, but experts say the proven benefits to women still outweigh possible risks. Researchers compared birth outcomes among women using SSRIs in pregnancy with others delivering at a university hospital in Denmark, including women with previous psychiatric illness who did not take antidepressants in pregnancy. Data from 57,000 women, including 329 on SSRIs, showed that gestational age was five days shorter in those ...
Study shows risk of septal defects with SSRIs in pregnancy
MORE evidence that taking SSRIs in early pregnancy may marginally increase the risk of congenital malformations in offspring has emerged from a large population-based study. A review of nearly 500,000 births in Denmark shows that the risk varies among commonly prescribed SSRIs and is markedly increased in women who have been prescribed more than one type. Although the absolute risk of malformations was low, the study found SSRI use was associated with almost double the risk of septal cardiac defects in children of women prescribed these antidepressants. Unlike previous studies, no links were found to non-cardiac ...
SNRIs offer benefit over other antidepressants in low libido
NEWER classes of antidepressant medications may be preferable for patients experiencing loss of libido with SSRIs, experts say. A review by University of Melbourne psychiatrist Professor Isaac Schweitzer and colleagues found that duloxetine (a serotonin noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor), and reboxetine, caused significantly less sexual dysfunction than SSRIs in short-term clinical trials. Reboxetine (a selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor), also had less effect on sexual dysfunction in long-term studies. Venlafaxine was similar to SSRIs but was associated with more sexual dysfunction compared with bupropion. The latter agent is not indicated for treatment of depression in Australia. ...
Suicidal ideation in children
Therapeutic Guidelines: Psychotropic version 6 includes a new section on suicidal ideation and behaviour in children and adolescents. Adolescents with psychiatric disorders, particularly depressive disorders, have a greatly increased risk for suicidal ideation and behaviour. The prevalence of depressive disorders among adolescent suicide victims is 49% to 64 per cent. This shows the importance of effectively treating these disorders. For some time, there has been concern about the potential for increased risk of suicidal ideation and behaviour among children and adolescents being treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). While estimates vary, ...
Antidepressant alarm prompts prescribing drop
MEDIA reports linking antidepressant drugs to suicide in young people have led to a halving of prescriptions of at least one medication, an expert is warning. Dr Michael Dudley, senior lecturer in psychiatry at the University of NSW, said there was good evidence antidepressants were efficacious and not ‘suicidogenic’ in young people. A meta-analysis of six studies examining 576 suicides of young people taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) revealed only nine patients were actually taking SSRIs at the time of death, he said. Prescriptions of antidepressants declined after the US Food and Drug Administration issued ...
Depression therapy may improve heart outcomes
PATIENTS with heart disease and concurrent depression may have better cardiac outcomes if they receive antidepressants. Melbourne psychiatrist Professor David Clarke told the Heart Foundation 2009 conference in Brisbane on Saturday there were “snippets of evidence” emerging that treatment with SSRIs might not only treat depression, but also impact on the course of coronary disease. Professor Clarke, clinical director of general hospital and primary care psychiatry at Monash Medical Centre and Southern Health, told the conference there was increasing evidence that depression was a “whole being” disease. Depression predicted later cardiovascular disease and the two conditions ...