eBook details
- Title: FDA Regulation of Labels on Medications Preempts "Failure-To-Warn" Lawsuits Asserting That Manufacturers Of Ssris Failed to Adequately Warn of A Risk of Suicide Purportedly Associated with These Medications (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors)
- Author : Developments in Mental Health Law
- Release Date : January 01, 2008
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 106 KB
Description
The most widely prescribed drugs in America are for the treatment of depression. According to reported data from IMS Health, a market research firm, 232.7 million prescriptions for antidepressants were written in 2007, an increase of 25% from 2003. It is estimated that 30 million patients in the United States spent $12 billion on antidepressants in 2007. Robert Cohen, Antidepressants Are on the Rise, THE STAR-LEDGER (Newark, N.J.), Apr. 11, 2008, at 35. A group of medications known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have come to be widely used to treat depression. Included within this category are the brand medications Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Luvox, Celexa, and Lexapro. Prozac was introduced in 1987 and became a very popular treatment modality for depression, in part because of its lower levels of toxicity and fewer side effects than older medications. However, because Prozac still causes some side effects, which can be relatively serious in some cases, and because it is not effective for all individuals in need of treatment, alternative medications within this category have continued to be developed.