Re: Re: The SSRI Nefazodone ( Serzone, Dutonin ) is pulled from Australia for liver failure

[Guest guest]

Oops! Here you go....

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/01/22/1074732543948.html

Re: The SSRI Nefazodone ( Serzone, Dutonin ) is

pulled from Australia for liver failure

Dear Norman

Can you provide the URL to this article?

Thanks in advance.

Charly

> Notice our Big Pharma lackey JJ Mann is quoted at the end of the

article. This " very serious condition "

> didn't even exist 20 years ago. It was called The Blues.

> Depression pill removal to affect thousands

> By Robotham, Medical Editor and agencies

> January 23, 2004

>

>

> Thousands of Australians with mood disorders will be forced to

switch to another antidepressant or cease medication altogether after

the manufacturer of Serzone decided to take it off the market from

May.

>

> The chairman of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of

Psychiatrists' committee for psychotropic drugs, Bill Lyndon, said

the transition might prove difficult for some patients.

>

> Dr Lyndon said this was because Serzone, which has been linked to

rare but potentially fatal liver damage, caused fewer sleep and

sexual problems than other drugs.

>

> He said Serzone, which is made by Bristol-Myers Squibb, might be

the only medication that worked for some people.

>

> " It's disappointing to lose a drug which does help some people, " he

said. " The bigger the variety, the better off people are. "

>

> But most patients would " be able to transfer uneventfully " to a

different medication, Dr Lyndon said, and the college would not be

asking the Federal Government to treat Serzone as an " essential

drug " , a category that can make a drug available under special

provisions after a manufacturer stops selling it.

>

>

> advertisement

>

> advertisement

> Serzone continues to be available in the US, where it is widely

used especially in geriatric patients, despite being linked to 55

cases of liver failure, including 20 deaths, since 1994.

>

> The decision to withdraw Serzone comes amid mounting concern

worldwide about the side effects of antidepressants.

>

> The clinical adviser to the depression initiative beyondblue, Ian

Hickie, said a small minority of patients would be at risk of a

relapse of the condition. But most of those whose depression had

stabilised while on Serzone would be able to find another drug that

worked for them.

>

> " Doctors need to take the opportunity of looking at whether people

need to be on medication at all, " Professor Hickie said.

>

> Some people remained on antidepressants indefinitely, he said, when

doctors should try to wean patients off drugs and offer them

psychological treatments instead.

>

> Bristol-Myers Squibb issued a statement saying it would no longer

market Serzone in Australia, " because of its current low and

declining rate of use " . The company has already withdrawn Serzone in

Europe, citing the same reasons. But in Canada, health regulators

banned its use.

>

> Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration is reviewing the

safety of the widely used selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor

(SSRI) class of antidepressants in children and adolescents.

>

> The review follows advice from the British Government that only

Prozac should be used by under-18s because other drugs might make

them agitated or suicidal. A similar review is under way in the US.

>

> But yesterday, psychiatrists from the American College of

Neuropsychopharmacology defended the use of mood-altering medicines

in children.

>

> The college said there there was no strong evidence the medicines

increased suicide risk.

>

> J. Mann, a Columbia University professor of psychiatry and co-

chairman of a college task force addressing the controversy,

said: " Depression in children and adults is the major illness that

underlies suicide, and we believe that the SSRI class represents the

medication with the greatest efficacy against this very serious

condition. "

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Oops! Here you go....

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/01/22/1074732543948.html

Re: The SSRI Nefazodone ( Serzone, Dutonin ) is

pulled from Australia for liver failure

Dear Norman

Can you provide the URL to this article?

Thanks in advance.

Charly

> Notice our Big Pharma lackey JJ Mann is quoted at the end of the

article. This " very serious condition "

> didn't even exist 20 years ago. It was called The Blues.

> Depression pill removal to affect thousands

> By Robotham, Medical Editor and agencies

> January 23, 2004

>

>

> Thousands of Australians with mood disorders will be forced to

switch to another antidepressant or cease medication altogether after

the manufacturer of Serzone decided to take it off the market from

May.

>

> The chairman of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of

Psychiatrists' committee for psychotropic drugs, Bill Lyndon, said

the transition might prove difficult for some patients.

>

> Dr Lyndon said this was because Serzone, which has been linked to

rare but potentially fatal liver damage, caused fewer sleep and

sexual problems than other drugs.

>

> He said Serzone, which is made by Bristol-Myers Squibb, might be

the only medication that worked for some people.

>

> " It's disappointing to lose a drug which does help some people, " he

said. " The bigger the variety, the better off people are. "

>

> But most patients would " be able to transfer uneventfully " to a

different medication, Dr Lyndon said, and the college would not be

asking the Federal Government to treat Serzone as an " essential

drug " , a category that can make a drug available under special

provisions after a manufacturer stops selling it.

>

>

> advertisement

>

> advertisement

> Serzone continues to be available in the US, where it is widely

used especially in geriatric patients, despite being linked to 55

cases of liver failure, including 20 deaths, since 1994.

>

> The decision to withdraw Serzone comes amid mounting concern

worldwide about the side effects of antidepressants.

>

> The clinical adviser to the depression initiative beyondblue, Ian

Hickie, said a small minority of patients would be at risk of a

relapse of the condition. But most of those whose depression had

stabilised while on Serzone would be able to find another drug that

worked for them.

>

> " Doctors need to take the opportunity of looking at whether people

need to be on medication at all, " Professor Hickie said.

>

> Some people remained on antidepressants indefinitely, he said, when

doctors should try to wean patients off drugs and offer them

psychological treatments instead.

>

> Bristol-Myers Squibb issued a statement saying it would no longer

market Serzone in Australia, " because of its current low and

declining rate of use " . The company has already withdrawn Serzone in

Europe, citing the same reasons. But in Canada, health regulators

banned its use.

>

> Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration is reviewing the

safety of the widely used selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor

(SSRI) class of antidepressants in children and adolescents.

>

> The review follows advice from the British Government that only

Prozac should be used by under-18s because other drugs might make

them agitated or suicidal. A similar review is under way in the US.

>

> But yesterday, psychiatrists from the American College of

Neuropsychopharmacology defended the use of mood-altering medicines

in children.

>

> The college said there there was no strong evidence the medicines

increased suicide risk.

>

> J. Mann, a Columbia University professor of psychiatry and co-

chairman of a college task force addressing the controversy,

said: " Depression in children and adults is the major illness that

underlies suicide, and we believe that the SSRI class represents the

medication with the greatest efficacy against this very serious

condition. "

>

>

>