DID WE MENTION IT CAN CAUSE DIARRHEA TOO?

Prozac must have suicide warning (Sara Boseley, The Guardian, September 15th, 2004)

All antidepressant drugs must carry the strongest possible public warning that they could cause children to harm themselves or commit suicide, US authorities said yesterday in a landmark ruling which has repercussions for the whole class of drugs. Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration at a public hearing agreed last night by a majority of 25 to one, with one abstention, that antidepressants caused young people to become suicidal.

They opted to require "black box warnings" on the risks to children from all antidepressant drugs.

The outcome of the FDA advisory committee hearings is a major blow to manufacturers of the modern SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) class of drugs such as Prozac. It also has ramifications for the older antidepressants and those yet to come on the market.

All will be required to show black box warnings that children could become suicidal.

Quite the miracle drug, that. It seems to both cause and prevent suicide--one wonders whether in the same people. Would it be reasonable to surmise no one really has a good handle on what the score is and so everyone is taking the high road and running for legal cover?