The Link Between Antidepressants And Autism. Part 3 of 3

Of nearly 627000 children born between 1996 and 2005, just under 3900 were later diagnosed with autism. Among those children, 52 were born to mothers who filled an SSRI drug during pregnancy. There were just over 6000 other children whose mothers used the antidepressants during pregnancy but did not develop autism. Both Hviid and Chambers said the findings do not check that SSRIs carry no autism risk.

And a connection is biologically plausible. No one knows what causes autism, which affects an estimated one in 88 children. But it involves a disruption in fetal perspicacity development. It’s thought that serotonin – the chemical that SSRIs target – contributes to early brain development, and in animals, altered serotonin levels can act upon brain function and behavior. “It’s still worthwhile to continue to study this.

But based on the human studies so far, “if there is any increased risk of autism, it appears small”. And for any one woman that possible risk would have to be balanced against the risks of leaving major depression untreated. “For some women, the optimal situation may be to take an SSRI, even if there is an association with autism” v tight gel how much mombasa price. Hviid agreed, saying that’s a settling that has to be left up to women and their health care provider.

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The Link Between Antidepressants And Autism. Part 2 of 3

Commenting on the findings, Christina Chambers, manager of the Center for the Promotion of Maternal Health and Infant Development at the University of California, San Diego, stated, “I think this study is reassuring”. One “important” site is that the researchers factored in mothers’ mental health diagnoses – which ranged from depression to eating disorders to schizophrenia. “How much of the risk is related to the medication, and how much is agnate to the underlying condition? It’s hard to tease out”.

In theory depression or other mental health disorders could contribute to autism risk because those moms may be more likely to make unhealthy lifestyle choices, such as smoking or drinking. In this study, Hviid’s line-up did initially see a slightly increased risk of autism among children whose mothers used SSRIs during pregnancy. But once the researchers factored in the psychiatric disorders themselves, that statistical tie-up fell away.

On top of that, there was a slight increase in autism risk among children whose mothers had used an SSRI in the two years before pregnancy, but not during pregnancy. Hviid said that all suggests it’s the underlying conditions, rather than the drugs, that are associated with a baby autism risk – though the reasons are unknown. The study, which was funded by the Danish government, is based on records from Denmark’s country-wide system of health databases.

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The Link Between Antidepressants And Autism. Part 1 of 3

The Link Between Antidepressants And Autism. Despite some concerns to the contrary, children whose moms occupied antidepressants during pregnancy do not appear to be at increased risk of autism, a large strange Danish study suggests. The results, published Dec 19, 2013 in the New England Journal of Medicine, offer some reassurance. There have been some hints that antidepressants called demanding serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) could be linked to autism. SSRIs are the “first-line” drug against depression, and include medications such as fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), citalopram (Celexa) and paroxetine (Paxil).

In one modern US study, mothers’ SSRI use during pregnancy was tied to a twofold increase in the odds that her child would have autism. A Swedish study saw a similar pattern, though the risk linked to the drugs was smaller. But both studies included only parsimonious numbers of children who had autism and were exposed to antidepressants in the womb. The new study is “the largest to date” to look at the issue, using records for more than 600000 children born in Denmark, said distance researcher Anders Hviid, of the Statens Serum Institute in Copenhagen.

And overall, his team found, there was no clear link between SSRI use during pregnancy and children’s autism risk. Hviid cautioned that the verdict is still based on a small number of children who had autism and prenatal exposure to an SSRI – 52, to be exact. The researchers eminent that it’s not possible to rule out a small increase in autism risk. “At this point, I do not think this potential association should feature prominently when evaluating the risks and benefits of SSRI use in pregnancy”.

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Some Types Of Antidepressants Increase The Risk Of Miscarriage. Part 3 of 3

Einarson noted that many women with unhappiness are undertreated. “My bottom, bottom, bottom line is that if a woman needs to be on an antidepressant, she must continue to take it. This should not be a reason to stop it”. Another expert, Dr Salih Yasin, buddy professor and vice chair of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, said this study can be useful in guiding doctors in advising patients.

First, one should settle whether the woman should be taking an antidepressant or not. “There are many people who have depression, but don’t need medication. With patients who need medications, one has to pick the lowest dose of the ones that have the least association with miscarriage”. The statement is published in the May 31 edition of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

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Some Types Of Antidepressants Increase The Risk Of Miscarriage. Part 2 of 3

Also, the risk uncovered by the study is a very small one. “Less than twice as many women had miscarriages in the group with antidepressants as those who did not take antidepressants. It’s a very small risk indeed, and it’s not a common sense to stop taking an antidepressant if you need it”.

For the study, Berard’s team collected data on 5124 women who had clinically verified miscarriages and compared them with another group of women who had not miscarried. Of the women who had miscarriages, 5,5 percent were taking an antidepressant during their pregnancy, the researchers found.

The most commonly hand-me-down antidepressants were SSRIs. Among these, paroxetine (Paxil) and venlafaxine (Effexor) were associated with a 51 percent increased gamble of miscarriage. The risk of miscarriage also increased with higher daily doses of these drugs. In addition, using a combination of different antidepressants doubled the risk of miscarriage, the researchers noted.

Berard believes that as bid goodbye of pregnancy planning, women should discuss with their doctor the risks and benefits associated with different types of antidepressants. “I would certainly advise against using Paxil and Effexor cock’s-crow on in pregnancy. This doesn’t mean women can’t use antidepressants; there are others on the market. Planning pregnancy and actually choosing which type of therapy beforehand is an option”.

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Some Types Of Antidepressants Increase The Risk Of Miscarriage. Part 1 of 3

Some Types Of Antidepressants Increase The Risk Of Miscarriage. Women who deem a certain class of antidepressants during pregnancy may increase their risk of having a failure by 68 percent, Canadian researchers report. Antidepressant use is common during pregnancy, with up to 3,7 percent of women taking the drugs during the first trimester. Stopping treatment can lead to a return of depression and other symptoms, and too soon studies of the medications’ effects on the fetus have been small and had contradictory results.

But the Canadian case-control study on more than 5000 women found that by controlling for other factors associated with miscarriage, taking antidepressants known as choosy serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) during pregnancy led to an increased risk of miscarriage. Up to 20 percent – or one woman out of five – will suffer a miscarriage for various reasons during pregnancy. But the cramming results suggest that SSRIs as a class increase that risk, according to lead researcher Anick Berard, an associate professor at the University of Montreal.

The results “are highly robust given the tidy number of users studied”. In addition the study makes clear that the drugs, rather than the mothers’ depression and anxiety, are associated with an increased risk for miscarriage.

However, the author of an accompanying editorial popular that the finding is far from definitive. “This is an association, not a cause,” said Adrienne Einarson, assistant director of the Motherisk Program at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. “We still don’t know if it’s the melancholy or the drug”.

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The Depression Is Associated With Heart Troubles. Part 3 of 3

Prescribing antidepressants for patients before they have quintessence bypass surgery helps them “get on with their lives more quickly after such a serious surgical procedure,” Chocron said in the news release. Bruno agreed that treating even serene depression is important. “I agree with the authors’ concluding suggestion that, unless contraindicated, there should be a relatively low threshold – for initiating antidepressant therapy” in these types of nerve patients. But another expert said the study reveals little about the strategy for patients with more severe depression.

So “The mild benefit associated with the use of antidepressants in this study is uniform with a population which was not significantly depressed,” noted Dr Dan Iosifescu, director of the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program and associate professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. He said “the patients in this cramming had depressive symptoms in a range which usually does not qualify for a diagnosis of depression”. Therefore, “on balance this study provides practical information on the safety of antidepressants in post- bypass patients but does not contribute to our understanding of their usefulness since the study population appears to have very low rates of depression”.

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The Depression Is Associated With Heart Troubles. Part 2 of 3

During the six months after the surgery, the patients who took the antidepressant reported less depression and better quality of life than those who took the placebo, the researchers reported. In addition, taking antidepressants did not burgeon the risk of complications or death in the year after surgery, according to the study, which appears in the May issue of the Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

The study suggests that taking the antidepressant “enables patients who were at least degree depressed before surgery for coronary artery disease to feel better more quickly after surgery, without influencing the complication rate,” study leader Dr Sidney Chocron said in a journal news release. “Even lightly made depression before coronary surgery can delay a patient’s mental recovery and increase the feeling of pain after surgery,” added Chocron, a professor of cardiac surgery at University Hospital Jean Minjoz in Besancon.

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The Depression Is Associated With Heart Troubles. Part 1 of 3

The Depression Is Associated With Heart Troubles. Depression is comparatively common in patients who undergo heart bypass surgery, and a new study finds that short-term use of antidepressants may help patients’ recovery May 2013. “Depression among patients requiring or having undergone bypass surgery is high and can significantly impact postoperative recovery,” said one accomplished not connected to the study, Dr Bryan Bruno, acting chairman of the department of psychiatry at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. In this study, a team of French researchers looked at 182 patients who started taking a particular serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant two to three weeks before undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery and continued taking it for six months after the procedure.

SSRIs embody widely used antidepressants such as Celexa, Lexapro, Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft. In this study, patients took one 10 milligram tablet of Lexapro (escitalopram) daily. The swotting was funded by Lexapro’s maker, H Lundbeck A/S. The outcomes of patients prescribed Lexapro were compared to 179 patients who took an resting placebo instead of the antidepressant.

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