Combat Troops Turn to Prozac

Powerful drug cocktails for stress, depression can be deadly

(NEWSER) - When Senior Airman Anthony Mena was found dead in his apartment, he had eight prescription medications in his blood, including three antidepressants, a sleeping pill, a sedative, and two powerful painkillers—but it was the combination of those drugs that killed him, not his own hand. The US military's medical system is flooded with prescription drugs, and the results sometimes can be deadly, claiming the lives of 101 soldiers between 2006 and 2009, reports the New York Times . “I’m not a doctor, but there is something inside that tells me the fewer of these things we prescribe, the better off we’ll be,” said one military official. More»

(NEWSER) - The number of Americans on antidepressants doubled from 1996 to 2005, a new study finds, but fewer are seeing psychiatrists, and most aren’t using the drugs to affect their mood. As of 2005, the last year for which data were available, 27 million Americans—roughly 10% of the population—were on the drugs. But the majority used them to treat pain, fatigue, and other conditions, USA Today reports. More»

New studies show surprising libido effects in antidepressants

(NEWSER) - An impaired sex drive has long been recognized as an occasional side effect of some antidepressants, but recent research suggests the drugs' libido-stifling powers might be far more widespread than doctors and patients thought. The prevalence of users experiencing numbness or fleeting arousal may be as high as 50%, and the side effects can linger even after the person stops taking the drug, reports the Boston Globe. More»

Prozac and others make a difference only in most extreme cases

(NEWSER) - Big Pharma swallowed a bitter pill yesterday as Prozac and other antidepressants were found in a UK study to be largely ineffectual in all but the most extreme cases of depression. The meta-analysis of 47 clinical trials submitted to the FDA with licensing applications for six popular antidepressants concluded that they should be prescribed only when all other treatments fail to yield results, the Independent reports. More»

Unintended effect unfolded as use fell

(NEWSER) - Four years after the FDA and other agencies sparked a drop in antidepressant use by labeling the meds a suicide risk for young people, a new study shows the results were exactly the opposite of what regulators intended. From 2003 to 2004, the suicide rate among people under 19 rose 14%, an unprecedented spike, the Washington Post reports. More»