4-18-07 Side Effects
You know those ads on TV for prescription drugs that spend most of the ad time spieling off all the possible side effects... it's almost as if the funny ads for non-existent humorously-named products on Saturday Night Live has become a way of life, in real life! How about a drug that's supposed to handle stomach upsets with a side effect like nausea? Or a cholesterol-lowering medication that may cause heart attack? Or an anti-depressant that may cause suicidal thoughts?
Yep. The side effects aren't the effects that the drug is intended to produce in people, but some small percentage may get these side effects. That's a SMALL percentage.
Okay, so let's take a look at this small percentage. One person who, apparently, was taking anti-depressants has demonstrated the worst possible suicidal tendencies that can be imagined. Before succeeding in actually committing suicide, however, he took over thirty people with him into the great beyond, along with several others who he injured. That's a side effect for extreme suicidal tendencies in only ONE person out of however many millions are taking whatever brand of anti-depressant he was taking. This is about the smallest percentage you can get without it being zero.
Yet, the fallout from this is a national tragedy.
But we all agree that this extremely low percentage of people who may experience a side effect is an acceptable risk. It's actually in the news today, two days after the horrific shooting spree in Virginia. The New York Times published an article about a new study that found this side effect of anti-depressants in children, the suicidal side effect we're talking about here, is actually lower than they thought. This article describes their new findings. Where the FDA found that two in 100 experienced increased thoughts of suicide, the new study found only one in 100 had this side effect. It's a great piece of news, isn't it? The new study shows that we don't have to worry about having this side effect because it occurs only HALF as often as they previously thought! So, for every million that takes anti-depressants, only TEN THOUSAND people are at risk of experiencing this suicidal side effect instead of TWENTY THOUSAND...
Gee... I feel safer already.
Yep. The side effects aren't the effects that the drug is intended to produce in people, but some small percentage may get these side effects. That's a SMALL percentage.
Okay, so let's take a look at this small percentage. One person who, apparently, was taking anti-depressants has demonstrated the worst possible suicidal tendencies that can be imagined. Before succeeding in actually committing suicide, however, he took over thirty people with him into the great beyond, along with several others who he injured. That's a side effect for extreme suicidal tendencies in only ONE person out of however many millions are taking whatever brand of anti-depressant he was taking. This is about the smallest percentage you can get without it being zero.
Yet, the fallout from this is a national tragedy.
But we all agree that this extremely low percentage of people who may experience a side effect is an acceptable risk. It's actually in the news today, two days after the horrific shooting spree in Virginia. The New York Times published an article about a new study that found this side effect of anti-depressants in children, the suicidal side effect we're talking about here, is actually lower than they thought. This article describes their new findings. Where the FDA found that two in 100 experienced increased thoughts of suicide, the new study found only one in 100 had this side effect. It's a great piece of news, isn't it? The new study shows that we don't have to worry about having this side effect because it occurs only HALF as often as they previously thought! So, for every million that takes anti-depressants, only TEN THOUSAND people are at risk of experiencing this suicidal side effect instead of TWENTY THOUSAND...
Gee... I feel safer already.
posted by Jeff Barnard at 4:30 AM
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