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----------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. study says Prozac can help depressed kids ----------------------------------------------------------------------- WASHINGTON (November 13, 1997 6:17 p.m. EST) - Children are just as likely to be depressed as adults and anti-depressants routinely prescribed for adults can help children as well, researchers said in a report published Thursday. The study by Dr. Graham Emslie and colleagues at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas found that fluoxetine, sold widely under the brand name Prozac, can greatly help children with clinical depression. Fluoxetine relieved the symptoms of depression in more than half the children and adolescents who were given the drugs, the report said. "This significant study has, for the first time, shown that depression in children can be treated, and that treatment can be effective," said Michael Faenza, president of the U.S. National Mental Health Association. Their 96 patients, aged 7 to 17, got either 20 mg of fluoxetine or a dummy pill. "Twenty-seven (56 percent) of those receiving fluoxetine and 16 (33 percent) receiving placebo were rated 'much' or 'very much' improved on the Clinical Global Impressions scale at study exit," they wrote in a report in the American Medical Association's Archives of General Psychiatry. After eight weeks, 74 percent of those on the drug improved, compared to 58 percent on placebo. But complete recovery was rare in either group. Prozac, made by Eli Lilly and Co, is one of the world's biggest selling drugs. It is a selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI). Drugs in this class work to effectively increase brain levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter or message-carrying chemical linked to mood. Emslie's group said their study indicated the drug was safe for children. "The tragedy is that too many of our children go undiagnosed and undertreated," Faenza said in a statement. "We know that mental health problems in children often lead to school failure, substance abuse and even suicide. Yet with early recognition and appropriate and timely access to care, the majority of these children can be helped." The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) estimates that 20 percent of all children under 18 suffer from a diagnosable mental, emotional or behavioral disorder. Children living in poverty seem to be at higher risk. Copyright 1997 Nando.net Copyright 1997 Reuters <http://www.nando.net/newsroom/ntn/health/111397/health31_13330_noframes.html> ----------------------------------------------------------------------- janet [log in to unmask]