SIGHTINGS



Prozac May Stunt Growth
By Ian Williams Goddard <Ian@Goddard.net>
c. 2000
3-11-00

 
 
In light of the widespread use of psychotropic drugs to control growing children, [1] the following is extremely important: According to a study recently published in the journal Pediatrics (1999), infants whose mothers took Prozac while breastfeeding grew significantly less than infants whose mothers had discontinued Prozac after delivery. [2] The study concluded: "The data set forth in this study indicate that infants who are breastfed by mothers who take fluoxetine [Prozac] track a growth curve significantly below that of infants breastfed without the medication."
 
Previously, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (1996) found that the birth weight of babies exposed to Prozac during pregnancy was less than those not exposed to Prozac during pregnancy. [3] Additionally, a recent animal study (1999) found that Prozac reduced the birth weight of rats and concluded that Prozac "may have a deleterious effect on prenatal development when administered during pregnancy." [4] With the latest study in Pediatrics, the evidence before us indicates that exposure to Prozac both before AND after birth may retard human development.
 
There may be a biological basis for Prozac-induced growth retardation: Prozac is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), a class of antidepressants that have been shown to reduce function in the growth-regulating regions of the brain known as the hypothalamus and pituitary gland. [5] It has also been shown that in some cases SSRIs can reduce the release of growth hormones. [6-9] This evidence could support a hypothesis that the lower weight of Prozac-exposed infants may be a result of drug-induced impairment of growth-regulating centers in the brain.
 
While it may be too early to draw definitive conclusions regarding the effect of SSRIs on human growth, the available evidence clearly points to the likelihood of a detrimental impact. The available evidence also raises this most- important question: If Prozac and other SSRIs reduce the growth of infants, then what effect might they have on the development of growing children and young adults, who are increasingly targeted for antidepressant treatment? [1] Furthermore, since the evidence suggests Prozac may stunt growth, is it ethical to expose growing children to SSRIs?
 
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[1] Zito, J. M., Safer, D. J., dosReis, S., et al. (2000) Trends in the Prescribing of Psychotropic Medications to Preschoolers. Journal of the American Medical Association, 283(8). http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v283n8/full/joc91250.html
 
[2] Chambers, C. D., Anderson, P. O., Thomas, R. G., et al. (1999). Weight Gain in Infants Breastfed by Mothers Who Take Fluoxetine. Pediatrics, 104(5):e61. http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/104/5/e61
 
[3] Chambers, C. D., Johnson, K. A., Dick, L. M., et al. (1996). Birth outcomes in pregnant women taking fluoxetine. New England Journal of Medicine, 335(14):1010-5.
 
[4] da-Silva, V. A., Altenburg, S. P., Malheiros, L. R., et al. (1999). Postnatal development of rats exposed to fluoxetine or venlafaxine during the third week of pregnancy. Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research, 32(1):93-8.
 
[5] Jensen, J. B., Jessop, D. S., Harbuz, M. S. (1999). Acute and long-term treatments with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor citalopram modulate the HPA axis activity at different levels in male rats. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 11(6):465-71.
 
[6] Lerer, B., Gelfin, Y., Gorfine, M., et al. (1999). 5-HT1A receptor function in normal subjects on clinical doses of fluoxetine: blunted temperature and hormone responses to ipsapirone challenge. Neuropsychopharmacology, Jun;20(6):628-39.
 
[7] Anderson, I. M., Deakin, J. F., Miller, H. E., (1996). The effect of chronic fluvoxamine on hormonal and psychological responses to buspirone in normal volunteers. Psychopharmacology, (Berl), 128(1):74-82.
 
[8] O'Flynn, K., O'Keane, V., Lucey, J. V., Dinan, T. G., (1991). Effect of fluoxetine on noradrenergic mediated growth hormone release: a double blind, placebo-controlled study. Biological Psychiatry, 15;30(4):377-82.
 
[9] Serri, O., Rasio, E. (1987). The effect of d-fenfluramine on anterior pituitary hormone release in the rat: in vivo and in vitro studies. Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, 65(12):2449-53.
 
Find these studies here:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed
 
 
Comment
 
From Rupert Chappelle
<rupert@pooky.myhouse.com
3-11-00
 
folks,
 
no doubt about it. prozac is wack. but i knew that before it was put on the market.
 
remember the woman who shot all those schoolkids in a chicago suburb before prozac was put on the market. she was taking an "experimental" anti-depressant.
 
people on prozac have all the certainty of the rightness of anything they do just like coke fiends do. flips the same switches.
 
so many people are on the stuff that it has affected the whole culture with that soma/zombie brave new world thing.
 
tipper gore is whack for sure, she admits taking the brain poison/happy pills. al gore sure acts like he's on the stuff. george bush jr's father was CEO of the company from 1976 to 1978 so every happy pill that is sold makes his family richer.
 
this corkscrew effect, is it reversable? not likely - i'm certain of that. selling permanent brain damage products is evidently high on the agenda for things to do for those who rule.
 
now all the non afflicted have to modify their behavior just to get along with the wackos. the whole culture suffers and corporate consumerism thrives from lowered brain function and awareness.
 
anyone who thinks their serotonin balance is off should eat beans and turkey. the current american diet not only promotes poor health, but bad brain chemistry as well.
 
the older anti-depressants, the tricyclics, are derived from phenothiazine - an insecticide.
 
workplace shootings, shopping mall kill sprees, postal workers going postal, schoolyard shootings, the day trader guy, the texas church shooter, all on these WONDERFUL new medications.
 
try to talk to the news media about it and see how they brush you off, they know it and they conceal it. what gives?
 
pharmaceutical company money does the trick i guess.
 
a totally controlled media that would be the envy of stalin or hitler.
 
well, don't take any of the stuff, eat some beans every so often and if you know anyone on the stuff, make sure they don't have access to guns.
 
impairing brain function is just plain stupid.

 
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