Prozac is regularly prescribed to ease the emotional pain of patients who are being treated for cancer. But can this common anti-depressant help to fight cancer itself?
Dr. Dan Peer of the Department of Cell Research and Immunology at Tel Aviv University is proving that it can. A study he and his colleagues recently completed validates that Prozac (chemical name fluoxetine) dramatically enhances the effectiveness of a widely used anti-cancer drug.
“The good news is that the medical community won't have to wait — Prozac can be used for this purpose right away,” says Dr. Peer, noting that doctors in the U.S. already prescribe it to treat depression in chemotherapy patients.
READ MORE @ SCIENCE DAILY
Showing posts with label Prozac. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prozac. Show all posts
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Monday, July 7, 2008
Head fake - How Prozac sent the science of depression in the wrong direction
PROZAC IS ONE of the most successful drugs of all time. Since its introduction as an antidepressant more than 20 years ago, Prozac has been prescribed to more than 54 million people around the world, and prevented untold amounts of suffering.
But the success of Prozac hasn't simply transformed the treatment of depression: it has also transformed the science of depression. For decades, researchers struggled to identify the underlying cause of depression, and patients were forced to endure a series of ineffective treatments. But then came Prozac. Like many other antidepressants, Prozac increases the brain's supply of serotonin, a neurotransmitter. The drug's effectiveness inspired an elegant theory, known as the chemical hypothesis: Sadness is simply a lack of chemical happiness. The little blue pills cheer us up because they give the brain what it has been missing.
There's only one problem with this theory of depression: it's almost certainly wrong, or at the very least woefully incomplete. Experiments have since shown that lowering people's serotonin levels does not make them depressed, nor does it does not make them depressed, nor does it worsen their symptoms if they are already depressed.
READ MORE @ BOSTON GLOBE
But the success of Prozac hasn't simply transformed the treatment of depression: it has also transformed the science of depression. For decades, researchers struggled to identify the underlying cause of depression, and patients were forced to endure a series of ineffective treatments. But then came Prozac. Like many other antidepressants, Prozac increases the brain's supply of serotonin, a neurotransmitter. The drug's effectiveness inspired an elegant theory, known as the chemical hypothesis: Sadness is simply a lack of chemical happiness. The little blue pills cheer us up because they give the brain what it has been missing.
There's only one problem with this theory of depression: it's almost certainly wrong, or at the very least woefully incomplete. Experiments have since shown that lowering people's serotonin levels does not make them depressed, nor does it does not make them depressed, nor does it worsen their symptoms if they are already depressed.
READ MORE @ BOSTON GLOBE
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan turning to anti-depressants in record numbers
Overwhelmed by the horrors and rigours of war, American troops are turning to prescription anti-depressants in record numbers.
America is facing accusations that it is maintaining the troop strength of its overstretched forces through a quiet policy of plying soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan with prescription drugs.
The numbers of American servicemen on medications such as Prozac and Zoloft in combat zones now exceeds 20,000.
Critics claim a regulatory sleight of hand by service chiefs triggered the explosion in drug use. In November, 2006 the military issued a fresh order banning the use of older drugs, including lithium, anticonvulsants and antipsychotics, but omitted new generation of psychotropic medicine.
READ MORE @ TELEGRAPH
America is facing accusations that it is maintaining the troop strength of its overstretched forces through a quiet policy of plying soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan with prescription drugs.
The numbers of American servicemen on medications such as Prozac and Zoloft in combat zones now exceeds 20,000.
Critics claim a regulatory sleight of hand by service chiefs triggered the explosion in drug use. In November, 2006 the military issued a fresh order banning the use of older drugs, including lithium, anticonvulsants and antipsychotics, but omitted new generation of psychotropic medicine.
READ MORE @ TELEGRAPH
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Prozac may slow MS - Dutch study
The popular antidepressant Prozac may help slow multiple sclerosis, according to a Dutch study showing that people who took the drug had fewer of the brain lesions that are a hallmark of the incurable disease.
The findings were from a small study but justified further examination in those afflicted with MS, the researchers reported in one of the British Medical Journal's specialist journals on Thursday.
"This proof-of-concept study shows that (the drug) tends to reduce the formation of new enhancing lesions in patients with MS," Jop Mostert, a neurologist at the University Medical Center Groeningen in the Netherlands, and colleagues wrote.
There is no cure for MS, which affects more than 1 million people worldwide. It is twice as common in women than men with symptoms often first appearing between the ages of 20 and 40.
The disease can be a mild illness in some people while causing permanent disability in others. Symptoms may include numbness or weakness in one or more limbs, partial or complete loss of vision, tingling or pain, electric-shock sensations with certain head movements, tremors and an unsteady gait.
READ MORE @ THE GUARDIAN
The findings were from a small study but justified further examination in those afflicted with MS, the researchers reported in one of the British Medical Journal's specialist journals on Thursday.
"This proof-of-concept study shows that (the drug) tends to reduce the formation of new enhancing lesions in patients with MS," Jop Mostert, a neurologist at the University Medical Center Groeningen in the Netherlands, and colleagues wrote.
There is no cure for MS, which affects more than 1 million people worldwide. It is twice as common in women than men with symptoms often first appearing between the ages of 20 and 40.
The disease can be a mild illness in some people while causing permanent disability in others. Symptoms may include numbness or weakness in one or more limbs, partial or complete loss of vision, tingling or pain, electric-shock sensations with certain head movements, tremors and an unsteady gait.
READ MORE @ THE GUARDIAN
Monday, February 11, 2008
Growing Up to Prozac: Drug makes new neurons mature faster
Peter Pan won't be pleased to hear the latest theory about how Prozac works. A new study shows that the antidepressant stimulates growth of neurons in the hippocampus and speeds the young brain cells toward maturity. The maturation process could be the mechanism by which the drug relieves depression.
Fluoxetine, the drug commonly known as Prozac, has been used to treat depression since the 1980s. Prozac and other SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) block the ability of the neurons to take up serotonin, thereby raising levels of the active neurotransmitter in the brain. When people with depression begin taking such drugs, serotonin levels in the brain increase rapidly, but it often takes 2 to 4 weeks before they begin to feel better.
The new study, published Feb. 6 in the Journal of Neuroscience, suggests that the lag is due to the time it takes for serotonin to stimulate new neurons to grow, mature, and integrate into brain circuits.
René Hen, a neuroscientist at Columbia University, and his colleagues tested the long-term effects of Prozac treatment on a specially bred strain of nervous mice.
READ MORE @ SCIENCE NEWS
Fluoxetine, the drug commonly known as Prozac, has been used to treat depression since the 1980s. Prozac and other SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) block the ability of the neurons to take up serotonin, thereby raising levels of the active neurotransmitter in the brain. When people with depression begin taking such drugs, serotonin levels in the brain increase rapidly, but it often takes 2 to 4 weeks before they begin to feel better.
The new study, published Feb. 6 in the Journal of Neuroscience, suggests that the lag is due to the time it takes for serotonin to stimulate new neurons to grow, mature, and integrate into brain circuits.
René Hen, a neuroscientist at Columbia University, and his colleagues tested the long-term effects of Prozac treatment on a specially bred strain of nervous mice.
READ MORE @ SCIENCE NEWS
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Reduces Risks of Teen Antidepressant Use
The combination of fluoxetine (Prozac) and cognitive behavior therapy for depressed teens may accelerate treatment response and protect against suicidality.
In a randomized trial, combination therapy was not superior to fluoxetine or cognitive behavior therapy after 36 weeks, reported John S. March, M.D., M.P.H., of Duke here, and colleagues, in the October issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.
But a previously published analysis of the same patients, which showed an early advantage in response rate at 12 weeks with combination therapy (73% versus 62% and 48%), suggests that it may be a superior strategy, they said.
"Because accelerating symptom reduction by using medication is an important clinical outcome in psychiatry, as it is in other areas of medicine, use of fluoxetine should be made widely available, not discouraged," they wrote.
READ MORE @ MEDPAGE TODAY
In a randomized trial, combination therapy was not superior to fluoxetine or cognitive behavior therapy after 36 weeks, reported John S. March, M.D., M.P.H., of Duke here, and colleagues, in the October issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.
But a previously published analysis of the same patients, which showed an early advantage in response rate at 12 weeks with combination therapy (73% versus 62% and 48%), suggests that it may be a superior strategy, they said.
"Because accelerating symptom reduction by using medication is an important clinical outcome in psychiatry, as it is in other areas of medicine, use of fluoxetine should be made widely available, not discouraged," they wrote.
READ MORE @ MEDPAGE TODAY
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Requiem for the Paxilated
Prozac was introduced by Eli Lilly to the US market in January 1988. Zoloft and Paxil followed in 1991 and 1992, respectively. Some 45,000 reports of adverse reactions to Prozac have been filed with the FDA. These include reports of about 2500 deaths, with the large majority linked to suicide or violence.
READ MORE @ COUNTERPUNCH
READ MORE @ COUNTERPUNCH
Monday, July 9, 2007
Antidepressants most prescribed drugs in U.S.
Dr. Ronald Dworkin tells the story of a woman who didn't like the way her husband was handling the family finances. She wanted to start keeping the books herself but didn't want to insult her husband.Antidepressants such as Paxil, Prozac and Lexapro are among America's most-prescribed drugs.
The doctor suggested she try an antidepressant to make herself feel better.
She got the antidepressant, and she did feel better, said Dr. Dworkin, who told the story in his book "Artificial Unhappiness: The Dark Side of the New Happy Class." But in the meantime, Dworkin says, the woman's husband led the family into financial ruin.
"Doctors are now medicating unhappiness," said Dworkin. "Too many people take drugs when they really need to be making changes in their lives."
READ MORE @ CNN
Monday, June 25, 2007
Anti-depressants weaken elderly bones
Two studies published add to growing evidence the most popular class of drugs taken to treat depression may contribute to fragile bones in elderly people.
The research focused on a class of antidepressant drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Millions of people, including many elderly, take these drugs, known as SSRIs, which include Eli Lilly's Prozac, known generically as fluoxetine.
Two teams of researchers found that older men and women taking SSRIs had more bone loss than those not taking the drugs, which account for more than 60 percent of U.S. antidepressant drug prescriptions. A drop in bone mass can lead to osteoporosis and bone fractures.
A team led by Dr. Susan Diem of the University of Minnesota tracked 2,722 women, average age 78, including 198 SSRI users. They measured their bone mineral density five years apart
READ MORE @ REUTERS
The research focused on a class of antidepressant drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Millions of people, including many elderly, take these drugs, known as SSRIs, which include Eli Lilly's Prozac, known generically as fluoxetine.
Two teams of researchers found that older men and women taking SSRIs had more bone loss than those not taking the drugs, which account for more than 60 percent of U.S. antidepressant drug prescriptions. A drop in bone mass can lead to osteoporosis and bone fractures.
A team led by Dr. Susan Diem of the University of Minnesota tracked 2,722 women, average age 78, including 198 SSRI users. They measured their bone mineral density five years apart
READ MORE @ REUTERS
Monday, June 11, 2007
Big Headache for Big Pharma
For pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, death and injury are just a cost of doing business. When Zyprexa, Lilly’s drug to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, hit the marketplace in 1996, it was hailed as an “atypical” – a “safe, gentle psychotropic,” more effective than older drugs like Thorazine and Trilafon, without the dangerous side effects. Sales skyrocketed. The hype soon gave way to reality, as Lilly faced waves of lawsuits by patients suffering from diabetes, massive weight gain, pancreatitis and cardiac problems. Lilly responded with the cozy arrangement that worked with Prozac, another blockbuster plagued with problems: quietly settle suits out of court, with proceedings sealed and secret under a gag order. Anything embarrassing – or illegal – that Lilly is doing behind closed doors would remain hidden from public view.By - Will Hall co-founder of the Freedom Center, and a member of the Icarus Project.
READ MORE @ Adbusters
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