Patrick D Hahn

Is suicide an expected event?

Chantix was approved by the FDA on 11 May 2006. A study published by Thomas Moore and his colleagues at the non-profit Institute for Safe Medication Practices found that by the fourth quarter of 2007, Chantix surpassed all other drugs for serious events reported to the FDA, including but not limited to hostility, aggression, paranoia, hallucinations, psychosis, heart arrhythmias, heart attacks, visual disturbances, seizures, falls, traffic accidents, homicidal ideation, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts, along with 28 actual suicides.

Quitting can be different this time

In May of 2009, 34-year-old Sean Wain of Economy, Pennsylvania, murdered his wife of fourteen years with a shotgun blast before turning the gun on himself, leaving their four small children orphaned. Neighbors and the family pastor said they had seen no sign of any marital discord prior to the shootings.

A fantastic individual

Lawrence Krystynak still remembers the night his wife Nora went missing. Mr. Krystynak and Nora had been married for twenty years. They lived with their son Alexei in Cleveland, Ohio, and Mr. Krystynak’s elderly father had recently come to stay with them as well. Nora worked as a nurse, and in her spare time she enjoyed quilting and knitting. “She was spectacular,” Mr. Krystynak reminisces. “Made all kinds of stuff for her friends, and her friends’ babies. She was just a great kid. A great person. A fantastic individual.”

“It’s shameful”

Peter Doshi is an Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research at the University of Maryland, an Associate Editor at BMJ, and a leading advocate for clinical trial transparency. On 13 June 2013, a paper authored by Peter Doshi, David Healy, and several others appeared in BMJ. The authors noted that they had obtained access to 178,000 ages of previously confidential drug company documents pertaining to clinical trials which had either never been published in the scientific literature, or which had been misreported. They called upon the sponsors of these trials to publish the unpublished studies, and to formally correct or retract the misreported ones. They further stated that if the sponsors failed to do so, the data would be considered “public access data” that others would be allowed to publish.

The ghost writer

On 29 January 2007, the BBC news program Panorama aired the documentary, "Secrets of the drug trials." This episode, presented by BBC reporter Shelley Jofre, detailed the behind-the-scenes attempts to spin the results of SmithKline Beecham's Study 329 of Paxil, which was published in 2001 in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. (In 2000, SmithKline Beecham merged with Glaxo Wellcome to form GlaxoSmithKline, at the time the biggest drug company in the world.) This was the fourth documentary about Paxil produced by Panorama, which had never before repeated a subject.

“An effective drug treatment”

On 13 February 1998 60-year-old Donald Schell of Gillette, Wyoming, took two guns and shot his wife and daughter and 9-month-old granddaughter dead. Each victim took at least at least three shots to the head. Afterwards, Schell turned one of the guns on himself and ended his life. All this took place two days after Don Schell began taking Paxil for sleep problems.

“Remarkable efficacy and safety”

SmithKline Beecham’s Study 329 of Paxil may well be the single most infamous drug trial ever, and its history is instructive. Paxil is one of several brand names for paroxetine, a drug developed in 1975 by the Danish pharmaceutical firm Ferrosan, which in 1980 sold the rights to the drug to the Beecham Group. (In 1989, the Beecham Group merged with SmithKline Beckman to form SmithKline Beecham, which in 2000 merged with Glaxo Wellcome to form GlaxoSmithKline, at the time the largest drug company on the planet.) Paxil, which was approved by the FDA at the end of 1992, is one of a class of antidepressants called Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, or SSRI’s. Despite its alleged selectivity, this drug has been approved for a dizzying variety of human woes, including major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, hot flashes, and something called “premenstrual dysphoric disorder.”

"I tried killing myself thirty times"

So says Vickie, a young nurse from Philadelphia who was first prescribed Paxil at the age of ten.

Part 2: "A straight-up question"

Part 1: People will die John Abramson is a medical doctor, the author of Overdo$ed America, and an outspoken critic of the pharmaceutical industry. He also is one of the experts featured in the Catalyst documentary, and he describes himself as an expert in litigation, including cases involving statins.

"People will die"

A study by Australian medical researchers is the latest salvo in the battle triggered by the documentary, "Heart of the Matter," which raised questions about the safety and effectiveness of statins, a class of drugs that block the body's ability to synthesize cholesterol.

“Chemically lobotomized"

Beginning in 2009, television viewers were treated to a series of commercial messages featuring animated images of winsome young mothers whose lives had been turned around by taking Abilify. In one memorable spot, an actress declaims in voice over: “My antidepressant worked hard to help with my depression. But sometimes I struggled to get going – even to get through the day.”

“Works like a thermostat”

David Healy is a medical doctor, the author of Pharmageddon, and an outspoken critic of the psychopharmaceutical industry. He also is a practicing psychiatrist and he does prescribe neuroleptics to his patients. But, he cautions, “The drugs are tranquilizers, and they were originally called tranquilizers. They are not curative.

A medicinal lobotomy

Abilify belongs to a class of drugs called "neuroleptics." Chlorpromazine was the first of the neuroleptic drugs, and indeed the first of the modern-day psychiatric medications, and its history is instructive.

“Psychiatry has destroyed my life

“Psychiatry has destroyed my life in so many ways.” So says Jarrett, a young man from Orange County, who for the past three and half years has been taking a cocktail of various psychiatric medications, including America’s best-selling drug, Abilify.

"I can't enjoy anything"

Just last August, a study was published in JAMA in which adolescents were screened for depression and then randomized either to a collaborative care intervention or usual care. An accompanying editorial called for integration of depression screening into primary pediatric care, noting that "depression is associated with serious mental health problems (e.g., suicide)."

Dead bodies

In the meantime the media and the FDA were flooded with tales of suicidal and homicidal violence committed by patients, including children, who had been taking Prozac. Faced with mounting pressure, the agency conducted a meta-analysis of 23 industry-sponsored RCT's on pediatric patients for nine antidepressants: Prozac, Celexa, Zoloft, Remeron, Paxil, Effexor, Wellbutrin, Luvox, and Serzone.

Better than well

Sadness, sorrow, and despair have been a part of the human condition from the beginning. More than two thousand years ago, the author of The Book of Job wrote, "I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul." Around the same time, Siddhartha Gautama is said to have told his followers, "Life is suffering." It is only in the last 150 years that these conditions have come to be regarded as diseases that can and should be treated by the pharmaceutical industry.

Part I: “They’re very safe”

“It’s like being in a torture chamber all your life.” That’s how Brenda, a young woman from the southeast of England, describes her experience with prescription antidepressants.

A nine-billion-dollar-a-year industry

Part 1: “I’ve lost everything” Part 2: A double whammy Part 3: A nine-billion-dollar-a-year industry Anxiety, fear, and terror are universal human experiences. It is only within the 150 years that they have come to be regarded as "diseases" that can and should be treated by the medical profession.

A double whammy

Part 1: “I’ve lost everything” Part 2: A double whammy The article was buried in the New York Times health blog: “Anti-anxiety drugs tied to higher mortality.” The article referred to a study, published March 19 in the online version of BMJ, by psychiatrist Scott Weich of the University of Warwick and his colleagues.