Two Sides of the Debate Around Screening for Teen Suicide Risk
Relating to my previous entry on suicide in young people, there is a debate around screening for suicide risk via psychological evaluations.
Because of the concern for teen suicide, psych evaluations are growing and critics say that this has not been shown to prevent suicides. Critics also say that these screenings often lead to the teens receiving prescription medications. Many of these medications including antipsychotics have not bee approved for use in children and teens, yet the use of psychiatric drugs in young people have dramatically increased.
This of course, has economic implications for the drug industry.
On the other hand, proponents of screening programs include those who had lost loved ones to suicide. The more controversial proponents include antipsychiatry parties like scientology and its visible celebrity spokesman (we know who he is).
Prozac (Fluoxetine) Does Not Prevent Relapse of Anorexia Nervosa
Prozac and generic fluoxetine has often been prescribed off-label for treating anorexia nervosa, and a recently JAMA-published in study of 93 discharged anorexic patients (having regained healthy weight) showed that Prozac made no difference in preventing relapse in these patients when compared with a sugar pill.
Antidepressants are often given to discharged anorexic patients to prevent relapse. This study showed that this common prescribing practice provided unsubstantiated benefit for these patients. The study authors suggested that therapy for these patients should focus on psychological and behavioral changes that had shown some modest effectiveness in preventing relapse.
FDA Wants to Stop Some Antihistamine Sales because These Drugs Have not been Approved
Wall Street Journal reported that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wants some manufacturers to stop making prescription cold and allergy medicines containing carbinoxamine because the drug has not been approved by the government. There are at least 120 medications containing this compound and the only company that has gained FDA approval to sell this drug as a tablet or oral solution for allergic reactions is Mikart Inc.
There has been 21 deaths reported in children due to use of this product since 1983.