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American Morning
Paging Dr. Gupta: Kids and Antidepressants
Aired February 02, 2004 - 08:46 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Today, an FDA advisory panel will meet to address concerns about the safety of antidepressants for children.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us now from the CNN Center with more on that issue.
Hey -- Sanjay. Good morning.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
The question most specifically: Do popular adult antidepressants increase the risk of suicide for children? An important question, but a difficult one to answer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice-over): Keeley Schwindt was diagnosed with depression at 15 after she attempted suicide. Four months ago at 19, she tried again.
KEELEY SCHWINDT, DEPRESSION SUFFERER: I felt useless. Like -- I felt like I didn't belong here. I felt like, you know, nobody cared.
GUPTA: It was only after that second attempt that she started taking her antidepressants regularly. Keeley and her mother believe those pills definitely make her better.
But some British experts believe certain antidepressants actually can be dangerous in depressed teens. Keeley's mom sees how that can happen.
TAMI SCHWINDT, KEELEY'S MOTHER: I think if the medication isn't taken right, if the support system isn't there, if they are not seeing their counselors like they should be, I think a lot of that is what leads up to problems that they have later.
GUPTA: The issue came to a head in December when the British government sent doctors a warning that some antidepressants may trigger suicidal thoughts and increase the rate of self-injury in children.
That warning came after one pharmaceutical company released study results of their antidepressant, Paxil, on more than 1,000 children. The rate of suicidal thinking and attempts on this drug was 3.75 percent. On the dummy pill, or placebo, 2.5 percent. But some U.S. doctors say the British warning misses a crucial detail.
DR.ADELAIDE ROBB, CHILDREN'S NATIONAL MEDICAL CENTER: An untreated depression in teenagers, the rate of suicide can be as high as 10 percent. So, if kids don't get help, whether it's therapy or medication, the risk for suicide is 10 percent.
GUPTA: Now, this issue rests with an advisory committee to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which will have the final word on what this means for U.S. patients.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
And those hearings are scheduled later on today, Soledad. I'm certainly going to keep you up to date on that -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: But, Sanjay, it's sort of counterintuitive, though. I mean, why would they think to link antidepressants and suicide, when, as we saw, many times that's exactly what's being used to treat children?
GUPTA: Yes, you know, that's what makes it so difficult. On the one hand, you're dealing with a disease that could potentially lead to suicide in and of itself. Now, is there something about these medications then in addition to treating the depression to making people feel less depressed is paradoxically increasing the risk of suicide? You saw some of the numbers there. When some of these children were treated, even though they were being treated, the rates of suicide were higher, about 3.7 percent versus 2.7 percent in those that are getting an actual antidepressant.
It's going to be a difficult question to answer. Some of those studies have not panned out to be so in adults, but children are different. And that's going to be really the target here -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Dr. Sanjay Gupta for us this morning. Sanjay, thank you.
GUPTA: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired February 2, 2004 - 08:46 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Today, an FDA advisory panel will meet to address concerns about the safety of antidepressants for children.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us now from the CNN Center with more on that issue.
Hey -- Sanjay. Good morning.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
The question most specifically: Do popular adult antidepressants increase the risk of suicide for children? An important question, but a difficult one to answer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice-over): Keeley Schwindt was diagnosed with depression at 15 after she attempted suicide. Four months ago at 19, she tried again.
KEELEY SCHWINDT, DEPRESSION SUFFERER: I felt useless. Like -- I felt like I didn't belong here. I felt like, you know, nobody cared.
GUPTA: It was only after that second attempt that she started taking her antidepressants regularly. Keeley and her mother believe those pills definitely make her better.
But some British experts believe certain antidepressants actually can be dangerous in depressed teens. Keeley's mom sees how that can happen.
TAMI SCHWINDT, KEELEY'S MOTHER: I think if the medication isn't taken right, if the support system isn't there, if they are not seeing their counselors like they should be, I think a lot of that is what leads up to problems that they have later.
GUPTA: The issue came to a head in December when the British government sent doctors a warning that some antidepressants may trigger suicidal thoughts and increase the rate of self-injury in children.
That warning came after one pharmaceutical company released study results of their antidepressant, Paxil, on more than 1,000 children. The rate of suicidal thinking and attempts on this drug was 3.75 percent. On the dummy pill, or placebo, 2.5 percent. But some U.S. doctors say the British warning misses a crucial detail.
DR.ADELAIDE ROBB, CHILDREN'S NATIONAL MEDICAL CENTER: An untreated depression in teenagers, the rate of suicide can be as high as 10 percent. So, if kids don't get help, whether it's therapy or medication, the risk for suicide is 10 percent.
GUPTA: Now, this issue rests with an advisory committee to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which will have the final word on what this means for U.S. patients.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
And those hearings are scheduled later on today, Soledad. I'm certainly going to keep you up to date on that -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: But, Sanjay, it's sort of counterintuitive, though. I mean, why would they think to link antidepressants and suicide, when, as we saw, many times that's exactly what's being used to treat children?
GUPTA: Yes, you know, that's what makes it so difficult. On the one hand, you're dealing with a disease that could potentially lead to suicide in and of itself. Now, is there something about these medications then in addition to treating the depression to making people feel less depressed is paradoxically increasing the risk of suicide? You saw some of the numbers there. When some of these children were treated, even though they were being treated, the rates of suicide were higher, about 3.7 percent versus 2.7 percent in those that are getting an actual antidepressant.
It's going to be a difficult question to answer. Some of those studies have not panned out to be so in adults, but children are different. And that's going to be really the target here -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Dr. Sanjay Gupta for us this morning. Sanjay, thank you.
GUPTA: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
