Cheney on SSRI's & stimulants - frying the brain

[Guest guest]

Given the recent discussion of Paxil, Prozac, Zoloft, etc, I thought it might

not hurt to post this article I wrote for our local support group's April

newsletter. I posted a " rougher " version some months ago.

If anyone is interested in the companion article " Cheney on Klonopin -

Protecting the Brain " , I'll be happy to post it or back channel it.

Take care. Carol

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DR. CHENEY ON SSRI’S AND STIMULANTS: " FRYING " THE BRAIN

Written by Carol Sieverling, our group’s facilitator, this information is based

on tapes of her October 2000 visit to Dr. Cheney. He gave permission to share

this information, but has not reviewed or edited it.

Dr. Cheney recently came across some information regarding the dangers of

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI’s), such as Prozac, Zoloft and

Paxil, and stimulants like Ritalin and Provigil. During office visits, Dr.

Cheney shows patients the book Prozac Backlash: Overcoming the Dangers of

Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil and Other Antidepressants by ph Glenmullen, M.D., a

psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School. It includes endorsements from other Ivy

League psychiatrists. Cheney calls the implications of this book " staggering " .

When talking with patients, Cheney usually opens the book to a picture of a

monkey's brain before and after it received a very potent SSRI. The " before "

photo shows a dark background filled with fine white lines and white blobs –

healthy neurons. The " after " photo is very dark – only a few white lines and

blobs remain. Most of the brain cells had been " fried " .

SSRI’s and stimulants work by increasing the firing of neurons. While this often

has great benefits in the short term, doctors are now realizing that long term

use " fries " brain cells. The body views any neuron that fires excessively over

time as damaged, and destroys it.

SSRI’s and stimulants, taken over a period of 10 years or so, can lead to a loss

of brain cells, causing neurodegenerative disorders. Many doctors have recently

seen a sudden increase in patients with neurological symptoms, and most have

been on Prozac, or a similar drug, for about 10 years. Cheney is seeing this in

his own practice.

During office visits, Cheney also shows patients a copy of the May 22, 2000

issue of Newsweek with J. Fox on the cover. It has an excellent article

on Parkinson's Disease, a condition that involves a loss of neurons in the area

associated with motor control. Parkinson's drugs stimulate the remaining neurons

to " perform heroically " , firing excessively. However, the article notes that

while benefits are seen initially, neurological symptoms get much worse at the

three to five-year point. Patients experience wild involuntary movements, etc.

These drugs, though helpful in the short term, actually speed up the

degenerative process.

What mechanisms are at work causing neurons to be " fried " ? SSRI’s are often

prescribed for depression, which involves a lack of serotonin. Serotonin is a

neurotransmitter – a chemical messenger. One neuron releases a burst of it into

the intersynaptic cleft, (the gap between neurons). The serotonin is then taken

up by special receptors in the adjacent neuron. Thus a message is sent from one

neuron to another, with serotonin carrying the message across the gap. Excess

serotonin is cleared away before a new message is sent. A " reuptake channel " in

one neuron vacuums up the left over serotonin.

SSRI’s are designed to address a lack of serotonin by blocking the reuptake

channel from vacuuming up excess serotonin. While this allows more serotonin to

connect with the receptors, often too much is left floating in the intersynaptic

cleft. The only way the body can get rid of this excess serotonin is to oxidize

it. Unfortunately, this turns it into a toxic compound that, over time, kills

both the sending and receiving neurons. Cheney stated, " What starts out as an

attempt to increase serotonin and reduce symptoms ends up with the destruction

of the serotonergic system itself. It takes about a decade - more in some, less

in others.

Now when the serotonergic nerves are dead, you start getting these motor neuron

problems, which is what we're seeing. " Cheney commented, " You know what a lot of

doctors (who don’t understand CFIDS) are doing? They're saying 'Well, let's just

give them an antidepressant.’ And they’re frying their (patients') brains and

they don't even know it. In fact, a CFIDS patient on one of these drugs fries

their brain even faster than a non-CFIDS person. " (See the article on Klonopin

for an explanation.)

Cheney went on to say, " The other way some people with CFIDS are going is

stimulating the brain, using drugs like Ritalin or Provigil. They do the same

thing - they fry the brain. They cause neurons to fire at lower stimulus by

lowering the firing threshold. All stimulants are dangerous, especially over the

long haul. I'm not saying that you might not find them useful in the short-term.

But over the long term, the physiology demands that neurons that fire

excessively be killed. "

Cheney strongly urges anyone taking antidepressants or stimulants to read

Glenmullen’s book. It lists safe alternatives to SSRI’s.