anti-depressants-related stories
Life Fit with Laura Lewis: Can Anti-Depressants Affect More Than Mood
Being Life Fit is about your total health, including the health of all of your relationships. Life Fit is a journey, not a destination. It is a process of continuous growth: physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Check in each Tuesday to Life Fit with Laura Lewis, author of "52 Ways To A Healthy You," as we explore our total life fitness. Then, weigh in with your own thoughts over at Laura's "Life Fit Chat" each Wednesday and Thursday for further discussion on the week's topic. Or check out "Ask Laura" every Friday for answers! For more information visit Laura at www.LauraLewis.com.With an estimated 10% of American men and women on some sort of pharmaceutical anti-depressant the question of whether or not these medications will have long-term negative side affects is certainly warranted. Recent studies suggest that one long-term effect of pharmaceutical anti-depressants is brittle bones and an increased chance of bone fractures. Not good news for the millions of aging Americans battling depression.
Leslie Spangler, a researcher at Group Health, a Seattle-based health plan researcher, found that post-menopausal women taking prescribed anti-depressants experience a significantly greater number of fractures to the spine, as well as to other bone fractures throughout the body. Spangler's research indicates that women are at a 30 percent greater risk of spinal fractures, and 20 percent greater risk of fracturing other bones.
Women taking anti-depressants need to be especially diligent in getting proper levels of calcium. In my book, 52 Ways To A Healthy You, I share with readers natural ways to maintain enough calcium through diet. Dairy products such as yogurt, acidolphilus, regular milk, and low-fat cheeses are excellent sources of calcium. But many people are not able to tolerate these foods. Fortunately, we can get calcium in other foods that few people think of as "high-calcium" foods. Canned salmon and sardines, collard greens, mustard and turnip greens, broccli, kale, soybeans, tofu, almonds, oysters, clams and shrimp are all excellent non-dairy alternatives for obtaining adequate amounts of calcium.
Leslie Spangler, a researcher at Group Health, a Seattle-based health plan researcher, found that post-menopausal women taking prescribed anti-depressants experience a significantly greater number of fractures to the spine, as well as to other bone fractures throughout the body. Spangler's research indicates that women are at a 30 percent greater risk of spinal fractures, and 20 percent greater risk of fracturing other bones.
Women taking anti-depressants need to be especially diligent in getting proper levels of calcium. In my book, 52 Ways To A Healthy You, I share with readers natural ways to maintain enough calcium through diet. Dairy products such as yogurt, acidolphilus, regular milk, and low-fat cheeses are excellent sources of calcium. But many people are not able to tolerate these foods. Fortunately, we can get calcium in other foods that few people think of as "high-calcium" foods. Canned salmon and sardines, collard greens, mustard and turnip greens, broccli, kale, soybeans, tofu, almonds, oysters, clams and shrimp are all excellent non-dairy alternatives for obtaining adequate amounts of calcium.
Teen aggression possibly linked to Prozac usage
In a recent animal study, the results showed that hamsters became more aggressive when given low doses of the common anti-depressant prescription drug Prozac, while high doses of the same drug caused lower aggression levels. All of these findings came from juvenile hamsters as well.In adult hamsters, high or low doses of Prozac caused very little in terms of aggression levels, suggesting that adolescent and adult brains are quite different. Although doctors affiliated with the study described that hamsters and humans are quite different -- and that this latest study on Prozac had limitations due to this -- the fact is still rather startling. Why do some kids taking Prozac seem to become more violent and ever suicidal?
Dr. Jon Shaw -- Director of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine -- said that "There are a lot of studies on the maturation and evolution of the central nervous system structure through adolescence, and nobody thinks the adult brain is [the same as] the child's brain. And this just reminds us that other studies are needed to try and understand what the difference means in terms of metabolism of drugs."
In other words, designing and prescribing an anti-depressant drug for one human audience may not be the wisest course of action. From this latest study on Prozac, those expert medical opinions seem to be well-justified.
