SSRIs Can Lead to Cataract

More problems with this class of drugs, perhaps its time to rethink the problem of " depression"  and look for nutritional regeneration.  Safe and effective natural herbal remedies or homeopathy can also be of great help.

Cataracts From Antidepressants? Study: 22,000 U.S. Cataract Cases May Be Due to SSRI Antidepressants

By Daniel J. DeNoon, WebMD Health News

March 12, 2010 -- SSRI and SNRI antidepressants raise the risk of cataracts by about 15% -- enough to cause 22,000 extra cataract cases in the U.S.  each year, Canadian researchers suggest.

The study does not prove that antidepressants cause cataracts. And even if the finding is confirmed, the risk to an individual taking antidepressants is small.

But these widely prescribed drugs may pose a vision risk in elderly patients, suggest Mahyar Etminan, PharmD, and colleagues of the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
"This study showed for the first time that SSRI use may be associated with an increase in the risk of cataracts," Etminan and colleagues conclude.
The researchers analyzed data collected from 18,784 cataract patients and 187,840 comparison patients between 1995 and 2004. All of the patients had heart disease and had undergone treatment for blocked arteries. Their average age was 73.
Only patients currently using antidepressants -- not those who had taken them in the past and stopped -- were at increased risk of cataracts. Even so, only 8.5% of cataract patients in the study had taken SSRI antidepressants at any time.
Not all SSRI antidepressants were found to increase cataract risk, although this may be because not enough people in the study were taking them for the researchers to detect a risk. Risk was found for three different antidepressants:

• Luvox raised cataract risk by 39%.
• Effexor raised cataract risk by 33%.
• Paxil raised cataract risk by 23%.
• Overall, use of any SSRI antidepressant raised cataract risk by 15%.

Assuming that 10% of Americans take SSRIs, that the increased risk is 15%, and that 1.5% of cataracts in the U.S. are caused by antidepressants, the researchers calculate that SSRIs may cause 22,000 extra cases of cataracts each year.

How Antidepressants Might Cause Cataracts

How could antidepressants cause cataracts?
SSRI antidepressants work by increasing the amount of serotonin in the brain. (Effexor is not strictly an SSRI, as it boosts norepinephrine as well as serotonin. - NB from NHN: These are called SNRIs)
Etminan and colleagues note that the lens of the eye has serotonin receptors -- switches that activate cellular functions. Animal studies show that serotonin can make the lens of the eye more opaque and lead to cataracts.
If the Etminan findings are confirmed, SSRI antidepressants would not be the first drug to increase cataract risk. Oral and inhaled steroids and beta-blockers have also been linked to cataract formation.
The Etminan study appears in the March 7 online issue of Ophthalmology. Pfizer, the maker of Effexor, and Abbott, the maker of Luvox, were contacted for comment but were unable to reply in time for publication.

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Posted in: cataract,SSRI - SNRI drugs

Where's the rest of the story?

An interesting study reports fluoride based serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) drugs kill cancer cells in the lab.

This article includes no reference to how long the study lasted, nor did it say how long the drug continued to kill cells, or what dose was used.

What one has to wonder is which filing cabinet drawer or round file this will got to once replication occurs, and a review of the horrendous side effects associated with fluoride are.

Additionally there is no mention that fluoride based drugs suppress your thyroid and nothing is said about the known damaging side effects, including homicide and suicide.

Maybe the latter two refer to a new way to kill cancer...

Now what happens to this class of drugs and the Black Box warnings?
"This, combined with many years of experience in treating patients with these drugs, means that doctors can be confident that the treatment will not cause significant effects on normal tissues and is safe for virtually all patients."

New study claims Prozac can help in the battle with cancer
Prozac and other well established antidepressants could be the latest weapon in the fight against cancer, claim scientists who found they stop tumours from growing.

By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent, 23 Apr 2010

Researchers in Britain have found that the commonly used drug suppresses tumour growth by as much as 90 per cent and could be used to boost the effectiveness of other cancer fighting treatments.

And because it has already been tested, it should mean that it could be available for use far more quickly than new drugs that have to go through numerous safety trials.

The team at the University of Birmingham found that the active ingredients from Prozac, medical name fluoxetine, could bring on apoptosis (a kind of natural death) in cancer cells cultivated in the laboratory.

Further trials on actual live tissue – blood with leukaemia – showed that it dramatically reduced tumour growth by up to 90 per cent.

Now they believe clinical trials on humans will see the results replicated in real cancer patients.

"We were thrilled to see these results," said Professor Barnes. "It shows a real opportunity to maintain the pressure on tumours in between chemotherapy cycles."

The findings, published in the journal Leukaemia Research, showed that both Prozac (Fluoxetine) and another antidepressant Chlomipramine were effective against cancer cells in leukaemia and lymphoma patients.

Professor Nick Barnes, one of the study leaders, believes that by using the drug along with traditional chemotherapy survival rates could be dramatically improved.

One of the big problems with chemotherapy is that it is so powerful that treatments have to be done in cycles as the drugs are so damaging to healthy cells as well as cancer cells.

That means cancer cells have the ability to regroup and spread in-between treatments. Prozac could be used to "keep a lid" on cancer growth between cycles.

Ken Campbell, a spokesman for the charity Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research, said: "This research holds the promise of safe, less toxic treatments for the most common group of blood cancers.

"This, combined with many years of experience in treating patients with these drugs, means that doctors can be confident that the treatment will not cause significant effects on normal tissues and is safe for virtually all patients." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7624419/Prozac-can-help-in-the-battle-with-cancer.html

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Posted in: Cancer,cancer cells killed in lab,fluoride,SSRI - SNRI drugs

Fluoride is not a cure for mothers or babies

UPDATE: March 2009
Defeat Mother's Act by Mother's Day!
Please Take Action and Call Your Representative

Ablechild has been following The Mother's Act, a bill that clearly violates informed consent and places mothers and children at risk. This bill would mandate the government to screen all new mothers for subjective mental conditions. We would like to update you on this act and request that you take the time to familiarize yourself with it.

Ablechild strongly opposes The Mother's Act. This special interest bill entitled The Mother's Act should fool NO MOTHER into thinking it is harmless! It is truly lethal. Take a look http://www.youtube.com:80/watch.

Every call, fax and e-mail to your representative counts. It is simple. Tell them you strongly oppose the Mothers Act by going here.

For more information and understanding of this act and the consequences that could result if this form of legislation gets passed into law please view http://www.uniteforlife.org/

Once again, thank you for making a difference!
------------------

Originally posted March 2008 -
Just when you thought there was progress to get people to understand more about the dangers of fluoride along comes Obama with an insane piece of legislation that can affect babies and pregnant mothers in very negative ways.

Post-partum depression is an endocrine imbalance and nutritional deficiency problem. A symptom may be something similar to a depressed state because the thyroid that is affected is the key controller of body metabolism and energy creation.

SSRI anti-depressants are based in fluoride and are endocrine disruptors. All campus shootings have been associated with people who have been taking SSRI anti-depressants, which recently have been proven - AGAIN - to be ineffective for reversing depression. Cases involving mothers killing their babies and children are connected to the mother having been prescribed SSRIs and/or other psychotropic medications.

Probably Lilly is in need of another market to raise income since Prozac sales have been slumping.

Pregnancy Warnings for Prozac -

Pregnancy Category C
In embryo-fetal development studies in rats and rabbits, there was no evidence of teratogenicity following administration of up to 12.5 and 15 mg/kg/day, respectively (1.5 and 3.6 times, respectively, the MRHD of 80 mg on a mg/m² basis) throughout organogenesis. However, in rat reproduction studies, an increase in stillborn pups, a decrease in pup weight, and an increase in pup deaths during the first 7 days postpartum occurred following maternal exposure to 12 mg/kg/day (1.5 times the MRHD on a mg/m² basis) during gestation or 7.5 mg/kg/day (0.9 times the MRHD on a mg/m² basis) during gestation and lactation. There was no evidence of developmental neurotoxicity in the surviving offspring of rats treated with 12 mg/kg/day during gestation. The no-effect dose for rat pup mortality was 5 mg/kg/day (0.6 times the MRHD on a mg/m² basis). Prozac should be used during pregnancy only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus.
Nonteratogenic Effects
Neonates exposed to Prozac and other SSRIs or serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), late in the third trimester have developed complications requiring prolonged hospitalization, respiratory support, and tube feeding. Such complications can arise immediately upon delivery. Reported clinical findings have included respiratory distress, cyanosis, apnea, seizures, temperature instability, feeding difficulty, vomiting, hypoglycemia, hypotonia, hypertonia, hyperreflexia, tremor, jitteriness, irritability, and constant crying. These features are consistent with either a direct toxic effect of SSRIs and SNRIs or, possibly, a drug discontinuation syndrome. It should be noted that, in some cases, the clinical picture is consistent with serotonin syndrome (see Monoamine oxidase inhibitors under CONTRAINDICATIONS).
Infants exposed to SSRIs in late pregnancy may have an increased risk for persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN). PPHN occurs in 1-2 per 1000 live births in the general population and is associated with substantial neonatal morbidity and mortality. In a retrospective case-control study of 377 women whose infants were born with PPHN and 836 women whose infants were born healthy, the risk for developing PPHN was approximately six-fold higher for infants exposed to SSRIs after the 20th week of gestation compared to infants who had not been exposed to antidepressants during pregnancy. There is currently no corroborative evidence regarding the risk for PPHN following exposure to SSRIs in pregnancy; this is the first study that has investigated the potential risk. The study did not include enough cases with exposure to individual SSRIs to determine if all SSRIs posed similar levels of PPHN risk.
When treating a pregnant woman with Prozac during the third trimester, the physician should carefully consider both the potential risks and benefits of treatment (see DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION). Physicians should note that in a prospective longitudinal study of 201 women with a history of major depression who were euthymic at the beginning of pregnancy, women who discontinued antidepressant medication during pregnancy were more likely to experience a relapse of major depression than women who continued antidepressant medication.
Labor and Delivery
The effect of Prozac on labor and delivery in humans is unknown. However, because fluoxetine crosses the placenta and because of the possibility that fluoxetine may have adverse effects on the newborn, fluoxetine should be used during labor and delivery only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus.
Nursing Mothers
Because Prozac is excreted in human milk, nursing while on Prozac is not recommended. In one breast-milk sample, the concentration of fluoxetine plus norfluoxetine was 70.4 ng/mL. The concentration in the mother's plasma was 295.0 ng/mL. No adverse effects on the infant were reported. In another case, an infant nursed by a mother on Prozac developed crying, sleep disturbance, vomiting, and watery stools. The infant's plasma drug levels were 340 ng/mL of fluoxetine and 208 ng/mL of norfluoxetine on the second day of feeding.

Subject: URGENT Mothers Act: Watch videos and take action by calling your Senators- see list below

Vital information regarding the Mothers Act
There are two videos in this email about "The Mother's Act" (S. 1375), a federal bill that is dangerous to mothers and their newborns but being promoted under the guise of ensuring that new mothers and their families are educated about postpartum depression, screened for symptoms, and provided with essential services….This is quuite simply, false, and the video shows exactly the effect this bill will have; it will push more mothers onto dangerous antidepressant drugs documented by the U.S. FDA to cause mania, psychosis, hallucinations, suicidal ideation and in some cases, homicidal ideation (as with the antidepressant Effexor). There is no language in the bill requiring full disclosure of the drug risks to mothers prescribed psychotropic drugs, (the most common "treatment" for mothers diagnosed with post partum depression), no language requiring mothers be given options for non-harmful treatments and real medical care other than drugs. So please watch the videos, take action and above all — pass this email on to everyone you know.

1) Watch one mother's story of what happened to her when she was "helped" by the same type of psychiatric intervention that this bill proposes:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=LQW23XCmOCw

2) Watch her newscast gathering support:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=W4B8I_8wz6I

Then take action

1) Sign onto the petition against the Mothers Act here:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-the-dangerous-and-invasive-mothers-act

2) The bill is currently in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. It scheduled for a vote on March 5th so calls and Faxes are needed NOW. You can follow the simple instructions below

(If you fax, you can use the same letter and simply add the Senator's name to the top of the fax, sending each Senator his own fax)

Whether you call or fax, keep your message simple

You are opposed because of the damage that will be done to mothers and infants due to the treatment that will result from the legislation. There is no language in the bill warning that the psychotropic drugs prescribed for "depression" can cause damage to both mother and child and that this is a complete violation of informed consent. (Use your own words... Keep it brief, mention the bill number — S. 1375.

Call/Fax list:

Republicans

Sen. Michael B. Enzi (WY)
Tele: 202-224-3424
Fax: 202-228-0359

Sen. Judd Gregg (NH)
Tele: 202-224-3324
Fax: 202-224-4952

Sen. Lamar Alexander (TN)
Tele: 202-224-4944
Fax: 202-228-3398

Sen. Richard Burr (NC)
Tele: 202-224-3154
Fax: 202-228-2981

Sen. Johnny Isakson (GA)
Tele: 202-224-3643
Fax: 202-228-0724

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (AK)
Tele: 202-224-6665
Fax: 202-224-5301

Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (UT)
Tele: 202-224-5251
Fax: 202-224-6331

Sen. Pat Roberts (KS)
Tele: 202-224-4774
Fax: 202-224-3514

Sen. Wayne Allard (CO)
Tele: 202-224-5941
Fax: 202-224-6471

Sen. Tom Coburn (OK)
Tele: 202-224-5754
Fax: 202-224-6008
Democrats by Rank
Edward Kennedy (MA)
Tele: 202-224-4543
Fax: 202-224-2417

Christopher Dodd (CT) - a co-sponsor of the bill.
Tele: 202-224-2823
Fax: 202-224-1083

Tom Harkin (IA)
Tele: 202-224-3254
Fax: 202-224-9369

Barbara Mikulski (MD)
Tele: 202-224-4654
Fax: 202-224-8858

Jeff Bingaman (NM)
Tele: 202-224-5521
Fax: 202-224-2852

Patty Murray (WA)
Tele: 202-224-2621
Fax: 202-224-0238

Jack Reed (RI)
Tele: 202-224-4642
Fax: 202-224-4680

Hillary Rodham Clinton (NY)
Tele: 202-224-4451
Fax: 202-228-0282

Barack Obama (IL) - a co-sponsor of the bill
Tele: 202-224-2854
Fax: 202-228-4260

· Bernard Sanders (VT) - a co-sponsor of the bill
Tele: 202-224-5141
Fax: 202-228-0776

· Sherrod Brown (OH) - a co-sponsor of the bill
Tele: 202-224-2315
Fax: 202-228-6321

Fluoride Exposure During Infancy: In contrast to recommendations adopted in the 1950s, fluoride supplementation is no longer recommended for newborn children. This includes both fluoride in drops, and fluoride in drinking water.

Not only is fluoride ingestion during infancy unnecessary, it can also be harmful - as suggested by a mounting body of evidence linking fluoride exposure during the first year of life with the development of dental fluorosis. (For pictures of dental fluorosis, click here)

Because of the risk for dental fluorosis, and the lack of demonstrable benefit from ingesting fluoride before teeth erupt, the American Dental Association - and a growing number of dental researchers - recommend that children under 12 months of age should not consume fluoridated water while babies under 6 months of age should not receive any fluoride drops or pills.

Fluoridated drinking water contains up to 200 times more fluoride than breast milk (1000 ppb in fluoridated tap water vs 5-10 ppb in breast milk). As a result, babies consuming formula made with fluoridated tap water are exposed to much higher levels of fluoride than a breast-fed infant. (A baby drinking fluoridated formula receives the highest dosage of fluoride among all age groups in the population (0.1-0.2+ mg/kg/day), whereas a breast-fed infant receives the lowest).

Dental fluorosis is not the only risk from early-life exposure to fluoride. A recent review in The Lancet describes fluoride as "an emerging neurotoxic substance" that may damage the developing brain. The National Research Council has identified fluoride as an "endocrine disrupter" that may impair thyroid function, while recent research from Harvard University has found a possible connection between fluoride and bone cancer. http://www.fluoridealert.org/health/infant/

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Posted in: 2009,babies,fluoride damage,Mother's Act,mothers,SSRI - SNRI drugs