Strattera - 130 Reports Of Suicidality In One Month
February 15, 2006. By Evelyn Pringle
From:
http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com...strattera.html
A not yet released discussion paper written by the British Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency, reveals that last fall, there were 130 reports of suicidality in a single month by patients treated with the attention deficit drug Strattera.
In addition, the paper reveals that there have also been more than 760 spontaneous reports of cardiac disorders, 172 reports of liver damage, and about 20 reports of completed suicides.
The large number of adverse event reports are exposed in a December 9, 2005, paper sent to the Swedish Medical Products Agency by the British agency. The information was obtained through FOIA-requests, and was released under a court order, according to Swedish investigative reporter Janne Larsson.
A press release on the British discussion paper will be issued tomorrow morning, on February 16, 2006.
Drug making giant, Eli Lilly originally sought FDA approval of Strattera as an antidepressant and was unsuccessful. The drug has since been marketed as a treatment for ADHD. Strattera is approved for use with children and adult patients. However, the drug has not been tested in children less than 6 years of age or in geriatric patients, according Lilly.
Strattera is selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, and the first non-stimulant drug approved to treat ADHD. Since Strattera is chemically similar to depression drugs linked to suicidal thoughts in children in 2004, last year the FDA ordered Lilly to analyze its data on Strattera.
The 12 short-term (6-18 weeks) trials reviewed involved more than 2200 patients, including 1357 receiving Strattera and 851 receiving placebo. The analysis found a greater risk of suicidal thinking during the first few months in those receiving Strattera. The average risk of suicidal thinking was about 4 per thousand with Strattera compared to no events in placebo-patients. There was 1 suicide attempt in a patient treated with Strattera.
Strattera and Suicide 
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