EU Labeling Contraindicates Acomplia for Patients with Depression
Acomplia (generic name Rimonabant) was not approved in the US because the FDA’s expert panel was concerned about suicidal thoughts that appeared as a treatment side-effect in patients. Acomplia is a drug that was approved in the EU for treatment of weight loss and diabetes. According to Forbes, the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has updated the drug’s labeling to contraindicate (NOT USE due to dangerous including potentially fatal side effects) the use of this drug for patients who have major depression and/or are receiving ongoing antidepressive treatment. You may also read the company’s PDF press release here.
Selenium Supplements and Diabetes
I found this article summary of a study that found that people who took selenium supplementation increased their diabetes risk compared with people who took placebos. In case you’re wondering why you’re reading about selenium supplements and a link to diabetes on a mental health website:
1) There are patient anecdotes on taking selenium to protect against hair loss when taking certain bipolar disorder medications (I was personally given this advice by a patient via discussion group 10 years ago when I was misdiagnosed with BP and taking a BP drug that caused my hair to fall out)
2) There are studies suggesting that certain atypical psychotropic drugs used to treat bipolar disorder are linked with onset of diabetes
For those patients who “self medicate” with supplements including selenium and are taking drugs that may further increase their risk of developing diabetes, you may want to talk with your psychiatrist and make sure you let him or her know all the supplements you are taking.
VA Study Suggests Antidepressants Have Protective Effect on Suicide
The link between suicide and antidepressant (especially SSRI) use has been debated for the past few years, particularly on the potential causative link that antidepressant use may cause suicidal risks in certain patients (pediatric and teens). In the July issue of The American Journal of Psychiatry, a paper titled, “Relationship Between Antidepressants and Suicide Attempts: An Analysis of the Veterans Health Administration Data Sets” was published to look at the relationship of antidepressant use to suicide attempts in adults treated in the veterans administration (VA) system. The abstract follows with link to an online full text editorial. Read more