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FDA Issues Two Warnings for Antidepressants
> 7/20/2006 10:34:59 AM

Today, the Food and Drug Administration has issued two new warnings regarding the use of the antidepressants, SSRIs, for depression treatment. Both of the new warnings will only pertain to a small subset of those who use antidepressants, but are significant enough to warrant consideration by therapists and doctors who proscribe antidepressants as part of depression treatment.

The first warning relates to an "uncommon but life-threatening lung problem that can affect babies born to mothers who take the drugs during pregnancy." This new change comes amid a whirlwind of questions surrounding the studies of depression and pregnancy. Of the lung problem, the AP reports:

Babies with the lung disorder, called persistent pulmonary hypertension, have high pressure in the blood vessels of their lungs and are not able to get enough oxygen into their bloodstreams. One or two babies per 1,000 develop the disorder shortly after birth. But a study published Feb. 9 in The New England Journal of Medicine found that infants whose mothers took antidepressants in the second half of pregnancy had six times the expected risk of it.

The second of their new alerts comes on a much less contentious topic, the dangers of combining antidepressants and a specific class of migraine drugs known as triptans. The most popular of these type of drugs is sumatriptan, known commercially as Imitrex. While further research is necessary, there is evidence that the combination of SSRIs and triptans can lead to the potentially life threatening condition, serotonin syndrome. This condition, where there is an excess of serotonin in the central nervous system, is often difficult to diagnose.

Doctors need to be aware fo both of these new warnings, and should communicate any and all possible risks to their clients. If you are on SSRIs and may already be or are considering getting pregnant, there are many issues that you will need to discuss with your physician or therapist.

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