News roundup

Regulator restricts use of SSRIs in children

London Lynn Eaton

The European Medicines Agency has ruled that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) should not be prescribed for children and adolescents under the age of 18, except for limited, approved uses. Some of the drugs have been approved for obsessive compulsive disorder, and one of them has been approved for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

It is also recommending that strong warnings should be issued throughout the European Union about the potential risk of suicidal behaviour and aggression in these age groups.

The advice comes two months after a study in the BMJ said that people aged under 18 taking SSRIs were more likely to harm themselves than those taking a tricyclic antidepressant (BMJ 2005;330:389).

The agency’s ruling follows a review of the two classes of antidepressants published after a meeting 10 days ago at which its scientific committee concluded that . . . [Full text of this article]

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

Relevant Articles

Antidepressant treatment and the risk of fatal and non-fatal self harm in first episode depression: nested case-control study

Carlos Martinez, Stephan Rietbrock, Lesley Wise, Deborah Ashby, Jonathan Chick, Jane Moseley, Stephen Evans, and David Gunnell
BMJ 2005 330: 389. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

In brief
BMJ 2004 329: 936. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Treatment of major depressive disorder in children and adolescents

Paul Ramchandani
BMJ 2004 328: 3-4. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Correction

Suyash Prasad
bmj.com, 5 May 2005 [Full text]