Fw: Drug Company Found 80% Guilty of Murder

[Guest guest]

From: " ilena rose " <ilena@...>

Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2001 12:11 AM

Subject: Drug Company Found 80% Guilty of Murder

> ~~~ thanx JD ~~~

>

>

> Drug Company Found 80% Guilty of Murder

>

> A jury in Wyoming found the British based drug company GlaxoKline 80%

> responsible for a family murder - suicide committed by a patient taking a

> drug produced by the company. The drug was was an anti depressant

> marketed as Praxil in the United States and Seroxat in Britain.

>

> According to the report published in the June 16, 2001 issue of the

British

> Medical Journal, a 60 year old Wyoming man who was suffering from episodic

> depression but who was not showing any signs of homicidal or suicidal

> tendencies was prescribed the drug. Several years earlier he was given

> Prozac, but was taken off the drug because he became agitated.

>

> In February of 1998 he was put on Praxil for mild depression. Within

> several weeks he then went on his murderous rampage. In the trial several

> experts were brought in to testify including Dr. Healy, director of

> psychological medicine in Bangor, North Wales. Dr Healy testified that

both

> his own research and the research of the drug maker GlaxoKline both

> showed that a full 25% of healthy volunteers who were given this type of

> drug became " extremely agitated " . Dr Healy also testified that in his

own

> studies of volunteers who were not depressed who were given these drugs

> that only 33% felt better while on the drug, while 33% felt worse, and

33%

> felt no change. However, two previously non-suicidal and non-depressed

> volunteers became suicidal and depressed while on the drug.

>

> The jury in the Wyoming case awarded the surviving family $6.4 million and

> found that the drug company was 80% responsible for the deaths. This

court

> decision is the first time that a drug company has been held responsible

> for suicidal and homicidal actions of patients who were using it's

> product. Representatives of GlaxoKline said that they were surprised

> by the verdict and continue to state the drug is safe.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I hate to be the devil's advocate, but I find this

article to be mildly infuriating and lacking necessary

data to draw this conclusion.

This sounds similar to the controversy that surrounded

Prozac in the early 90's, when several individuals

taking Prozac became violent, both suicidal and

homicidal. Now, Prozac is not just one of the most

widely prescribed antidepressants, but also one of the

most widely prescribed drugs in the world. It turns out

that those individuals on Prozac had underlying

psychosocial problems and/or had adverse reactions to

Prozac, all which should have been more closely

monitored by their physicians.

Unfortunately, the early 90's brought out the very first

SSRI's and many physicians were just beginning to widely

prescribe the drugs, often without the knowledge of

potential side effects/adverse reactions other than

those documented in the research literature. And it is

very common for new and unknown side effects/adverse

reactions to emerge once a drug is approved for use.

Now that depression is a common finding among the

general population and accounts for a high percentage of

doctor visits, many antidepressants have become

available to the public. Unfortunately, not everyone

will respond favorably, and in fact, there are those who

respond with adverse events such as increased

suicidality and even homicidal urges. It is not a

problem associated with the drug, but rather an adverse

event, poor physician monitoring, too rapid an increase

in dosage, or the patient taking the drug incorrectly.

Paxil is an SSRI (selective serontonin reuptake

inhibitor) which is in the same class as Prozac, Zoloft,

and Celexa. Serontonin can have deleterious effects on

the body, and if someone's depression is not due to a

decreased serotonin level, then prescribing a SSRI can

be dangerous. Too much serotonin can be just as

dangerous as too little serotonin, and can even

cause " serotonin syndrome, " which is a condition where

there is too much serotonin in the brain, and can cause

coma and even death. Too much serotonin can also

interact with other prescription medications, also with

the potential to cause serotonin syndrome. Excess

serotonin has been known to cause extreme mood swings,

anger and violence.

Some types of depression or mood disorders can be caused

by too little dopamine or norepinephrine, and therefore

require a different type of antidepressant.

Unfortunately, no physician can know for sure what

antidepressant to prescribe and how that person is going

to react to it. It is like playing a guessing game,

similar to people who are hypertensive and sometimes try

several medications prior to finding the one that works

best for them. Also, the majority of depressions do

respond to SSRI's, so most physicians prescribe them.

They also have an excellent safety record, and have been

around since the late 80's. Only the tricyclics and

MAOI's have been around longer, but these medications

come with undesirable side effects; much worse than the

SSRI's, and can be fatal in an overdose.

In the case of Paxil, it has been around since the early

90's. It is a widely prescribed antidepressant, and is

also FDA approved for panic, obsessive-compulsive

disorder, and social phobia. It has saved many

patients' lives and helped them to dig their way out of

a black hole.

I truly believe that the case in question is one of

those highly unusual incidences. This can happen with

any medication, and yet we don't fault the manufacturer

of other medications. I think that because Paxil is a

psychiatric drug, whenever someone becomes suicidal or

homicidal, the public is quick to blame the

pharmaceutical company, when in fact I don't think it is

necessarily due to the chemical composition of the drug

as much as it is an adverse reaction or lack of

monitoring. And because every depression presents

differently, taking an antidepressant can worsen the

depression and/or suicidal tendencies. Every

antidepressant comes with the warning that it can cause

suicidal thoughts or suicidal actions as well as

potential violent mood swings. It is up to the

physician to tell the patient this and to strongly

encourage the patient to report any changes in mood.

And this is also why I strongly believe that only

psychiatrists and those with training in mental health

should prescribe psychotropic medications vs. family

medicine and internal medicine doctors. A thorough

understanding and knowledge of psychotropic medications

can greatly decrease any potential side effects or

adverse reactions.

In the case cited in this article, I think this is a

grave injustice. And furthermore, the studies that are

cited do not state the number of volunteers or study

participants, so the percentages mean nothing to me.

And in the case of several individuals becoming

extremely agitated, this is a very common side effect

and is one of the main reasons patients stop their

medications.

Instead of blaming the pharmaceutical company who has

put out an excellent antidepressant, I think that the

jury/judge should have looked at the underlying problems

with the patient and what was happening with the patient

mentally prior to his actions. If a physician didn't

pick up any potential problems, then perhaps friends

did. This is not something that " just happened. " The

medications actions take several weeks to take effect as

does a therapeutic level. So chances are that this

patient's behavior had changed over the course of weeks

or days. If this had happened to someone taking

Procardia, Capoten, Keflex, Vicodin, or any other drug

commonly prescribed, I'm willing to bet money I don't

have that no one would have been so quick to blame the

pharmaceutical company.

e, RN, BSN, LNC

> From: " ilena rose " <ilena@...>

> Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2001 12:11 AM

> Subject: Drug Company Found 80% Guilty of Murder

>

>

> > ~~~ thanx JD ~~~

> >

> >

> > Drug Company Found 80% Guilty of Murder

> >

> > A jury in Wyoming found the British based drug company GlaxoKline 80%

> > responsible for a family murder - suicide committed by a patient taking a

> > drug produced by the company. The drug was was an anti depressant

> > marketed as Praxil in the United States and Seroxat in Britain.

> >

> > According to the report published in the June 16, 2001 issue of the

> British

> > Medical Journal, a 60 year old Wyoming man who was suffering from episodic

> > depression but who was not showing any signs of homicidal or suicidal

> > tendencies was prescribed the drug. Several years earlier he was given

> > Prozac, but was taken off the drug because he became agitated.

> >

> > In February of 1998 he was put on Praxil for mild depression. Within

> > several weeks he then went on his murderous rampage. In the trial several

> > experts were brought in to testify including Dr. Healy, director of

> > psychological medicine in Bangor, North Wales. Dr Healy testified that

> both

> > his own research and the research of the drug maker GlaxoKline both

> > showed that a full 25% of healthy volunteers who were given this type of

> > drug became " extremely agitated " . Dr Healy also testified that in his

> own

> > studies of volunteers who were not depressed who were given these drugs

> > that only 33% felt better while on the drug, while 33% felt worse, and

> 33%

> > felt no change. However, two previously non-suicidal and non-depressed

> > volunteers became suicidal and depressed while on the drug.

> >

> > The jury in the Wyoming case awarded the surviving family $6.4 million and

> > found that the drug company was 80% responsible for the deaths. This

> court

> > decision is the first time that a drug company has been held responsible

> > for suicidal and homicidal actions of patients who were using it's

> > product. Representatives of GlaxoKline said that they were surprised

> > by the verdict and continue to state the drug is safe.

> >

> >

> >

>

>

>