Now that Prozac's patent has expired, Eli Lilly and the FDA aren't so concerned with suppressing the truth about the drug. After all, the sooner people stop using Prozac, the sooner the newest, patent-protected drug will be substituted!

Newborn mice given Prozac grow up depressed

17:00 26 October 04

NewScientist.com news service

Mice treated with the antidepressant Prozac early in life grow into adults with emotional problems, a new report concludes.

Whether the drug has the same effect on people is unknown. But the result will add to the growing debate over what risks Prozac (fluoxetine) and similar SSRI drugs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) pose for young children and unborn babies.

"If they really need these drugs, people should take them. They can be life savers," says Jay Gingrinch, a psychiatrist at Columbia University in New York City, US, who led the research. "But it is a little bit alarming to find they might carry risks that aren't apparent until later in life."

Researchers began injecting mice with fluoxetine four days after birth until they were 21 days old. Nine weeks after their last injection, the adult animals were given a series of behavioral tests designed to assess their level of anxiety and depression.

The team found that rodents who received [the] drug as newborns were more intimidated by new surroundings and moved more slowly to avoid painful shocks compared to controls. "They are more inhibited in novel situations," says Gingrich. "Extrapolating to people, we'd say the mice are showing symptoms of anxiety and depression or emotional problems."

Suicidal thoughts

"It's fascinating," says Tim Oberlander, a developmental pediatrician at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. "It suggests these chemicals can cause crucial changes in the developing brain." (emphasis added)

Gee, Prozac's critics have only been screaming this at the top of their lungs for fifteen years or so. You can read the rest at http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996579.