- DALLAS (Reuters) - What could
be more peaceful, more restful or more relaxing than dropping a line into
a quiet Texas lake and trying to hook a fish that is on Prozac.
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- According to a study by a Baylor University toxicologist,
fluoxetine -- the active ingredient in the antidepressant Prozac -- is
making its way to a lake in the Dallas area and into the tissue of the
fresh water blue gill fish.
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- Bryan Brooks, an assistant professor of environmental
studies at Baylor said the fluoxetine most likely made its way through
a waste water treatment plant and into a river that feeds into Lake Lewisville,
northwest of Dallas.
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- Brooks will present his findings next month at a conference
of the Geological Society of America in Seattle.
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- While he has been asked several times about whether fish
on Prozac find pleasure in floating aimlessly and no pain when hooked by
a fisherman, Brooks said the most important part of his findings are that
some pharmaceuticals can make their way through water treatment plants
and back into waterways.
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- Brooks said the fluoxetine, and a metabolized compound
similar to it, most likely made their way into the water systems from the
urine of users or through people flushing Prozac down the toilet. The waste
water facility was not equipped to remove the compounds, which then made
their way into the blue gills, and perhaps other aquatic life.
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- "If we release something in the environment, we
need to understand what will happen to it," Brooks said.
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- Brooks said his findings lead to a bevy of other questions
such as how many pharmaceuticals can escape water treatment, can these
chemicals harm the water supply, how wide-spread is the problem and what
are the long-term health effects caused by these pharmaceuticals on aquatic
life and humans.
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- But, unfortunately, the nonscientific community seems
to be more interested in the idea of fish on Prozac.
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- Brooks said the exposure of the fish to fluoxetine is
below therapeutic levels. He is studying how current exposure might affect
the ability of the fish to find food, fight off predators and find a mate.
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- And if the blue gills were exposed to enough of the antidepressant,
the drug would likely have similar effects in the fish that it does in
humans.
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