The fact that the SSRI Prozac works on the brain in
a similar fashion as the violence-inducing drug PCP,
which is also an SSRI, makes the following findings
reported in London's Observer not too surprising:
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http://newsunlimited.co.uk/Print/0,3858,3973045,00.html
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Spiral of violence blamed on Prozac
Drugs in Britain: special report
Anthony Browne, Health Editor
Sunday March 12, 2000
The Observer
Prozac, the world's best-selling anti-depressant,
is being blamed for turning healthy, placid people
violent. It is thought to have led to crimes that
include murder.
Clinical research to be published soon will show that
up to one in 10 adults who take Prozac can become
belligerent and pose a risk to others and themselves.
The study is the strongest vindication yet of mental
health campaigners, who claim dozens of people have
been wrongly imprisoned because of the effects Prozac
has had on their behaviour. In the US, school shootings
have been linked to number of children given Prozac and
other anti-depressants.
In the first clinical trial of its kind, Dr David
Healy, director of the North Wales Department of
Psychological Medicine at the University of Wales, gave
Prozac to a volunteer group of mentally healthy adults
and found even their behaviour was affected. He said:
'We can make healthy volunteers belligerent, fearful,
suicidal, and even pose a risk to others.'
Healy says between one in 20 and one in 10 people who
take Prozac can be affected by akathisia, whereby they
become mentally restless or manic and lose all
inhibitions about their actions 'People don't care
about the consequences as you'd normally expect.
They're not bothered about contemplating something they
would usually be scared of,' he said.
The study is a potentially devastating blow for the US
drug company Eli Lilly, which has made millions from
Prozac. In a statement last night the company said:
'Since its discovery in 1972, Prozac has become one of
the world's most studied drugs. An extensive review of
scientific evidence has demonstrated no causal link
between Prozac and aggressive behaviour.' Previous
studies linking Prozac to violence have been
discredited because aggressive behaviour could be
caused by patients' personality disorders, not the
drug. Healy's study is the first to show Prozac can
affect even healthy individuals.
Pam Armstrong, co-founder of the Counselling and
Involuntary Tranquilliser Addiction helpline, said:
'I have come across a huge number of cases, from
bizarre behaviour to aggression.'
Stephen Bryson, a surgical nurse, was prescribed Prozac
after a close friend died, and his associates were
alarmed by his increasingly bizarre behaviour. 'I was
swearing, touching friends up in private parts and
would pick arguments for the sake of it and threaten
their lives. I ran around town stark naked and ran up
debts of £10,000. I became quite violent,' said Bryson.
'I had no awareness of ... right from wrong. I was high
as a kite.'
Bryson eventually attacked his partner with a knife.
'He was saved by the bell. If the phone hadn't rung, I
would have killed him.' Bryson was given a 12-month
jail sentence. Three months after ditching Prozac, he
was 'back to my old self'.
Ramzia Kabbani, who set up the Prozac Survivors Support
Group a year ago, said: 'People are going to prison for
what amounts to medical negligence. If they're throwing
the book at vulnerable individuals, they should be
throwing the book at the doctors who prescribe the
medicine as well.'
In the US, the widespread use of anti-depressants and
easy availability of guns is thought to be responsible
for mass killings. Eric Harris, 18, from Columbine High
School in Colorado, who last year shot 12 fellow
students and a teacher, had been taking Luvox, similar
to Prozac. In 1998 Kip Kinkel, 14, killed his parents
before going on a shooting spree at his high school in
Springfield, Oregon, killing two and injuring 22. He
took Prozac.
Last month a US judge in Connecticut acquitted a bank
robber who blamed his behaviour on Prozac. In what is
thought to be the first ruling of its kind, Superior
Court Judge Richard Arnold freed Christopher DeAngelo,
a 28-year-old insurance agent, because the defendant
was unable to appreciate his actions were wrong.
Defence lawyer John Williams said: 'This was someone
who was driven to commit crimes because of prescription
drugs.'
Eli Lilly said it has been successful in helping defeat
70 other cases where alleged criminals blamed their
behaviour on Prozac. However, Healy said: 'Eli Lilly is
legally trapped. They might like to admit that Prozac
causes violence, but they could open themselves up to
all sorts of claims.'
* Prozac Survivors Support Group helpline: 0161 682
3296; Counselling & Tranquilliser Addiction helpline
0151 949 0102
(c) Copyright Guardian Media Group plc. 2000
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http://newsunlimited.co.uk/Print/0,3858,3973045,00.html
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http://newsunlimited.co.uk/drugs/Story/0,2763,145985,00.html
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WACO PROTEST: http://users.erols.com/igoddard/waco-1.htm
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"There are times when you cannot keep your job and
put alternative explanations for data on the table."
Former FBI Special Agent Dr. Frederic Whitehurst
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