The Guardian
Link to the actual article:- http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2004/mar/12/sciencenews.medicineandhealth
Sarah Boseley, health editor
The Guardian, Friday 12 March 2004
Britain's best-selling antidepressant drug, Seroxat, which is alleged to cause a minority of those who take it to become suicidal or violent, has been prescribed in too high a dose to many thousands of patients, the regulatory authority said yesterday.
The Committee on the Safety of Medicines told doctors not to put depressed patients on a dose above the recommended level of 20mg A higher dose had no greater effect but the risk of side-effects increased.
Although the expert working group convened by the CSM to look at the safety of Seroxat and other SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) drugs has not finished investigating the suicide issue, there is evidence it could be dose-related.
A sudden increase in the dose could "heighten the risk of serious adverse events", the committee told doctors.
Last year 17,000 people were put on more than 20mg of Seroxat a day. It is estimated that about 500,000 people were prescribed the drug in the course of the year.
Yesterday Richard Brook, chief executive of the mental health charity Mind, said: "Mind has consistently highlighted the flaws in drugs regulation in this country, and a revelation like this is damning.
"In this sorry tale far too little heed has been paid to ordinary people experiencing awful side-effects and severe withdrawal symptoms. Far too much attention has been paid to the spin of drug company marketing departments."
In December the working party found that SSRIs raised the risk of suicide in children and adolescents and banned doctors from prescribing all but Prozac to the under-18s.
