Dr. Mercola November 24 2004 896 views
Researchers discovered that children taking Prozac might be exposing themselves to another devastating side effect -- impaired bone growth. A study in mice suggests that the cellular mechanisms crucial to bone growth may shut down in the presence of Prozac, which could delay bone development.
Prozac is one in a family of antidepressant drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). In addition to Prozac, other SSRIs include:
The purpose of these antidepressant drugs is to interact with nerve cells to increase the production of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is low in people suffering from depression. However, a serotonin transporter key to this process, 5-HTT, is also found in cells responsible for building and maintaining bone. Consequently, SSRI drugs targeting serotonin (such as Prozac) may adversely affect bone development.
In order to discover if their hypothesis was correct, researchers conducted experiments on genetically engineered mice. They found that growing mice exposed to Prozac over a four-week period averaged 6-9.4 percent less bone formation in their spines and thighbones than unexposed mice.
Researchers also discovered the reduction of bone growth did not affect the length of the bones, but rather how wide, or thick they were.
Forbes.com November 11, 2004
A short while ago, the FDA had FINALLY begun to force drug companies to stamp their antidepressants with "black box" labels that warn of increased suicidal behaviors among kids.
However, with more than 1 MILLION children in the United States taking the antidepressant drug Prozac, it becomes more evident to me that these new labels may not be doing the trick. Too often drugs are dispensed like "band-aids" and are simply not the road to ridding children of depression-related problems. There are more healthy ways in dealing with depression than drugs.
One alternative is through energy psychology tools like prayer and the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT).
Although often overlooked, emotional health is essential to your physical well being. EFT uses a combination of kinetic energy input and positive affirmations to release you of your emotional "blocks." The series will teach you how to relieve most emotional traumas, abolish phobias, overcome food cravings and eliminate or greatly reduce physical pain.
You can download my recently updated EFT manual free of charge. If you seek more in-depth knowledge of the EFT technique, my EFT series is available on DVD or VHS.
Another great way to treat depression is through exercising.
Many of us forget that exercise can be used as a drug. However, the practical problem with using exercise in depression is that the desire to pursue any activity, let alone exercise, is not very high. Therefore, just because you exercise, that doesn't mean you cannot become depressed. Exercise makes it easier to treat depression, but it certainly does not cure it in everyone.
Finally, you can treat depression by consuming high quality fish oil. There are a number of studies that show that fish oils are associated with decreased depression. If you this subject interests you I would highly recommend Dr. Stoll's book The Omega-3 Connection. He is a Harvard psychiatrist who has done a great job of compiling the evidence supporting the use of fish oils for depression.
It is absolutely amazing that when they treated depressed patients at Harvard that failed to respond to every antidepressant, merely by adding healthy doses of EPA and DHA they were able to have the majority of the depressed patients improve. Imagine what the response rate would have been if they incorporated the other tools listed above.
Face it, we are all fatheads. Sixty percent of our brain is composed of fat and half of that fat is DHA, one of the fats in fish oil. Our body can't make it, and if we don't supply it we will suffer neurological complications. One can certainly be depressed and have adequate amounts of fish oil, but it is a simple, inexpensive and non-toxic strategy that helps many deal with depression.
These techniques are far better and safer alternatives to treating depression than depending on antidepressants, which seem to have a never-ending list of side effects.
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