Antidepressants linked to 'adolescent' aggression

As seen in this report from New Scientist

Prozac can make “adolescent” hamsters more aggressive towards their cage-mates, despite the antidepressant drug producing the opposite effect in adult hamsters, making them calmer.

The new findings may help explain why certain antidepressants appear to cause irritability and other abnormal behaviours in teenagers.

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Some young people with depression receive lower doses of antidepressant drugs because of their relatively small weight and size. But Taravosh-Lahn says the findings of the hamster study should prompt a closer look at the effects of this practice.

“We underestimate the differences between the juvenile brain and the adult brain,” says Taravosh-Lahn. “It seems there needs to be more research on the effects of antidepressants on kids.”

Previous studies have also indicated a link between SSRIs and violent behaviour. Aggression was the most common reason children discontinued taking the drug Zoloft in two clinical trials conducted by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer (PLoS Medicine, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0030372), for example.

One high-profile case is that of Christopher Pittman, who in 2001 at the age of 12 shot and killed his grandparents before setting their house on fire. Lawyers defending the boy argued the murders were influenced by the antidepressant Zoloft, but a jury disagreed and sentenced him to 30 years in prison in February 2005.

Following a decision by the US Food and Drug Administration in late 2004, all antidepressants in the US now carry strong "black box" warnings, which state that the drugs may cause abnormal behaviours or suicidal thoughts in teenagers.

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Journal reference: Behavioral Neuroscience (DOI: 10.1037/0735-7044.120.5.1084)

The Study linked the lower doses of antidepressants to increased violence in adolescents