Friday, October 1, 2010

Bad Science: Antidepressants Found to Lower Serotonin Levels and Increases Suicide Rates, Yet they are Marketed to Increase “The Feel Good Chemical"

Dr. Rene Hen is a professor of pharmacology at the Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at Columbia University. She conducted a study on serotonin in mice earlier this year and it appeared in the January 15 issue of the journal Neuron.
One of her major conclusions was "The more antidepressants try to increase serotonin production, the less serotonin the neurons actually produce, and behavior in mice does not change," Dr. Hen was quoted.
Other studies have shown antidepressant drugs have been connected with an increased suicide risk and aggressive behavior. Natural News reported that Dr. Hen’s study found that antidepressants decrease the amount of serotonin in many patients' brains, instead of increasing it as they are meant to. Pharmaceutical Companies feel that serotonin in the brain makes a person feel good. So BigPharma’s drugs “supposably” increases serotonin levels in a patient so they are less depressed. According to Dr. Rene Hen’s study antidepressants have the opposite effect on about half the patients. Her findings indicate that half the patients who take antidepressants produce less serotonin. So, for half of the population, these drugs would actually be making the condition worse.

So the premise for these pharmaceutical companies drug approval was to increase this feel good chemical, but it now lowers serotonin in many patients. Lower serotonin according to BigPharma results in increased suicide rates. Hence, BigPharma is responsible for suicides in potentially fifty percent of the cases. 164 million antidepressant prescriptions were distributed in 2008.

It seems very strange to us why this study was not major news. Many studies have shown that antidepressants are no better than a placebo, but this study is even more alarming. It shows that Pharmaceutical companies and the FDA have blood on their hands. Their research is inadequate, rushed, or perhaps suppressed. There is an enormous population of lab humans taking drugs that show they cause far more harm than assistance. Recent news reports shows recalls of eggs, chicken, tomato’s and spinach because of signs of salmonella and e-coli. Car companies institute recalls for brake failures and many safety issues. Drugs companies don’t appear to be held to the same standard, and the FDA can’t enforce recalls. Hence, the J&J public relations debacle on their Tylenol recall, which gets broadly publicized, but not this alarming discovery regarding suicide and antidepressants.

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