STUDY FINDS SIDE-EFFECTS TO NEW ANTI-DEPRESSANTS

OTTAWA (CP) - Antidepressants hailed since the 1980s for having no
unpleasant side-effects can actually cause anything from nausea and
insomnia to anorexia.

In a review published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal
today, researchers report widely used antidepressants such as Prozac
can also cause diarrhea, nervousness, anxiety, and agitation.

The review, conducted by the Canadian Co-ordinating Office for Health
Technology Assessment, supports anecdotal evidence of side-effects
patients have reported for years.

In a wider set of studies, the researchers found the newer drugs,
called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs, are no safer
or more effective than other drugs used for treating people with
severe depression.

That knowledge could change the way doctors and psychiatrists decide
what kind of drug to prescribe.

There's been a dramatic increase in the prescription of SSRIs over the
years because doctors felt they were safer than the older tricyclic
antidepressants, or TCAs, which produced side-effects such as
dizziness and blurred vision.

Dr. Evelinda Trindade, the lead public-health researcher for the
review, is hoping the findings help foster a discussion on alternative
therapies for people who suffer from major depression.

"(Patients) should have maybe access not only to a pill, but to a
social worker or a psychologist to see the ways of getting out of a
problem that is overwhelming them."

When SSRIs were developed, clinical trial results showed patients were
more likely to stay on them because of fewer side-effects.

But Trindade's review of results from 84 clinical trials showed all
antidepressants had some side-effects. Patients were not significantly
less likely to stop taking an SSRI drug than a TCA one, the review
also discovered.

Dr. Nicolaas Otten, director of pharmaceutical assessments at the
health-assessment office, said doctors will have to change the way
they think of SSRIs to be able to give patients the most appropriate
treatment.

The review is likely to make scientists think twice about the how to
interpret results of clinical trials that are normally conducted to
assess the effectiveness of a drug.

The majority of the clinical studies considered in this analysis are
short, between four and 12 weeks, said Otten.

In 1994-1995, the Canadian National Population Health Survey found an
estimated 6.9 per cent, or about 1.7 million Canadians, older than 12
had experienced symptoms of depression in the last two months.

Checked-by: Rich O'Grady