Guardian Unlimited
Go to:  
Guardian UnlimitedThe Guardian
Home UK Business Online World dispatch The wrap Weblog Talk Search
The Guardian World News guide Arts Special reports Columnists Audio Help Quiz

UK news
 
  Search this site








  In this section
New shock potential as sober Hirst turns to God

Inquiry into why Huntley was not held in jail's maximum security unit

The history men fall out over tales of spying, betrayal and buffoonery

Guard shot in prison van break-out

'Lying' Dempster found guilty of drink-driving

Man hanged 53 years ago was innocent

BBC suicide bomb drama fuels hatred, say Muslims

Health department pays price for Victoria Climbiι murder

10,000 missing from school

Queen meets her match at Windsor

In brief

GM crops 'can aid poor farmers'

IRA fired first, says colonel

Cemetery call to angel guardians

Missing man 'using army jungle skills'

Gang raids Rothschild collection

BP portrait prize won by student

Warning on drug deaths in custody

Knot (a nice) weed

Balloon death girl named

Mood drug Seroxat banned for under-18s

Pinter blasts 'Nazi America' and 'deluded idiot' Blair

Increased air traffic noise could hit 600,000 people

Long lost painting surfaces online

Five killed in M1 pile-up

Mother cleared of murdering three babies


GPs accused of not reporting Seroxat suicides

Sarah Boseley, health editor
Friday May 9, 2003
The Guardian


At least 16 suicides of people who took the antidepressant Seroxat have gone unreported by their doctors in the past few years, it will be revealed this weekend, raising serious questions about the monitoring capabilities of the medicines regulator.

Concerns that Seroxat and others in the SSRI (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor) class, such as Prozac, could tip a minority towards suicide have been raised for a while.

In the US, two years ago, a jury awarded a family £4.6m damages after concluding that the drug, known there as Paxil, caused Donald Schell to kill his wife, daughter, baby granddaughter and then himself.

The medicines and healthcare products regulatory agency, part of the Department of Health, collects reports from doctors on any side-effects or adverse reactions that might be linked to a prescription medicine. Neither patients nor their relatives can fill out a "yellow card" - recording problems - and not every doctor participates in the scheme as it is voluntary.

The BBC's Panorama programme Emails from the Edge will reveal on Sunday that the phenomenal response - 67,000 phone calls and 1,400 emails - to its October documentary on Seroxat threw up reports of 16 suicides, 11 of them in the past two years, that have never been reported to the MHRA, as far as relatives are aware. The agency knows of only seven suicides of people on Seroxat over the past two years.

"In retrospect, when it is fully conceded that the drug can cause problems, this is going to look like a very serious failure," said David Healy, director of the North Wales department of psychological medicine, who has taken evidence to the agency linking suicides to this class of drug.

He added: "Doctors have been getting the mantra from the drug companies for 12 years that it is the disease [causing the suicide] and not the drug. It does provide a nice way out for GPs who just don't want to contemplate the possibility that a drug they prescribe could cause death."

One of those who contacted Panorama was Graham Aldred from Cheshire, whose wife killed herself after 11 days on Seroxat. Rhona, 53, suffered nightmares and then began to behave out of character.

In a statement, the MHRA said the safety of anti-depressants was closely monitored but it would look at any data from the Panorama study that was made available to it.

Related articles
03.05.2003: Seroxat maker abandons 'no addiction' claim
13.03.2003: Coroner calls for inquiry into Seroxat
27.07.2002: Antidepressant Seroxat tops table of drug withdrawal symptoms
28.04.2002: Seroxat: The real story
28.04.2002: Seroxat: The real story (part two)
10.07.2001: Suicide fear over anti-depressant

Big issue
Mental health

Glossary
A-Z guide to public services and voluntary sector speak

Useful sites
Department of health: mental health
MIND
The Royal College of Psychiatrists
Institute of Psychiatry




Printable version | Send it to a friend | Save story

 
 



UP

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003