Older Antidepressants Cause More Suicidal Thoughts Than Newer Drugs, Researchers Say

Men taking older tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) are nearly 10 times more likely to experience suicidal thoughts and other side effects compared to patients taking newer selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRIs) like Paxil, Prozac, and Zoloft, new research finds.

TCAs are a class of drugs developed and first used in the 1950s. While their use has largely been replaced in recent years by newer SSRIs, millions of patients worldwide still rely on them for treating depression-related symptoms.

Paxil, an SSRI drug, has been associated with an increased risk of serious birth defects. Other drugs in the same family of newer antidepressants are linked to sexual side effects, cardiovascular complications, and other problems.

The largest ever clinical study comparing the older TCAs to the newer SSRIs finds a dramatically increase in the risks of suicidal thoughts, agitation, irritability, and other side effects among TCA users. The trial, called Genome-Based Therapeutic Drugs for Depression, studied the use of the antidepressants in 811 people with depression between the ages of 18 and 72, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

The study used the TCA drug nortriptyline, which is sold under the brand names Pamelor and Aventyl. Researchers found that men given the drug were more far more likely to exhibit irritability and agitation, two symptoms which are common among depressed people and more often found in male depression patients specifically.

Earlier studies have found that suicidal thoughts triggered by TCAs are more common in the first couple of weeks of treatment or after the dosage is either increased or decreased. However, the new study concluded that suicidal thoughts can continue and even worsen as long as five and six weeks after starting the drugs.

The study results are published in the British journal BMC Medicine.

No related posts.