October 26

Data from Unpublished Trials Suggest that Most SSRIs Unsuitable for Children

Data from Unpublished Trials Suggest that Most SSRI Antidepressant Drugs Unsuitable for Children

Wed, 21 Apr 2004

An independent analysis in next week’s The Lancet compares the published and unpublished data of pediatric SSRI antidepressant clinical trial data, finding the published reports not to be evidence-based. “In a global medical culture where evidence-based practice is seen as the gold standard for care, these failings are a disaster.”

The authors, Craig Whittington and Tim Kendall from the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health, London, UK, and colleagues compared the published, peer-reviewed journal articles to the unpublished data. They found that published reports fail to be trustworthy as they failed to disclose the actual trial findings which contradict the positive claims made by pillars of the psychiatric establishment.

Instead, these independent authors found that the unpublished data shows that most SSRIs are unsuitable for children. The drugs have failed to prove a benefit to justify the risks posed by these drugs, but drug manufacturers in concert with the psychiatric establishment have been duplicitous in disseminating false and misleading research findings to physicians and the public.

The Lancet editorial comments: “The story of research into SSRI use in childhood depression is one of confusion, manipulation, and institutional failure. Although published evidence was inconsistent at best, use of SSRIs to treat childhood depression has been encouraged by pharmaceutical companies and clinicians worldwide.”

The authors call for access to all unpublished clinical trial data: “Drug sponsors who withhold trial data (or do not make full trial reports available) undermine the guideline programme, which can ultimately lead to recommendations for treatments that are ineffective, cause harm, or both.”

This is but the latest debunking of the false claims made about antidepressants drugs whose profitability was based on advertising, not on demonstrable benefits. The findings of these independent scientists validate earlier analyses by maligned critics who expressed their concerns publicly.

How will FDA officials defend their failure to protect children from the hazards of antidepressants before a Congressional committee, inasmuch as they knew the content of the unpublished data for years?

Contact: Vera Hassner Sharav
Tel: 212-595-8974

THE LANCET PRESS RELEASE

* DATA FROM UNPUBLISHED TRIALS SUGGEST THAT MOST SSRI ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUGS UNSUITABLE FOR CHILDREN

Issue 24 April 2004
Lancet 2004; 363: 1335, 1341-45

A UK study in this week’s issue of THE LANCET suggests that reliance on published studies alone to guide the treatment of childhood depression could be inappropriate. A systematic review including published and unpublished data shows that only one drug, fluoxetine (Prozac), was not associated with negative outcomes for children with depression.

There is a clear need for effective treatment for childhood depressive disorders; up to 6% of children and adolescents are thought to suffer from depression, and suicide is the third largest cause of death among 10-19 year-olds in developed countries. The class of drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have previously been considered to offer the best drug-treatment option for childhood depression, although recommendations for various SSRIs including fluoxetine and paroxetine

(Seroxat/Paxil) are based on limited evidence from published studies. Questions concerning the safety of SSRIs led Craig Whittington and Tim Kendall from the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health, London, UK, and colleagues to compare and contrast published and unpublished data on the risks and benefits of these drugs.

The investigators reanalysed data from randomised controlled trials that evaluated an SSRI compared with placebo in children aged 5-18 years that were published in a peer-reviewed journal. The analysis was extended to include data from unpublished trials (made available from the UK Committee for the Safety of Medicines).

From the published studies alone, all the SSRIs appeared to have a favourable risk-benefit ratio. With the exception of fluoxetine, the wider analysis of including data from unpublished trials suggested that the risk of SSRI treatment exceeded the benefits; for example, the inclusion of unpublished data on the effects of paroxetine showed it to be associated with a small increased risk in suicidal thoughts or attempted suicide.

The investigators comment that increased access to unpublished data from the pharmaceutical industry is crucial to enable a clear picture of antidepressant drug safety and efficacy to emerge. Tim Kendall comments:

“The clinical guideline programme developed by NICE [UK National Institute for Clinical Excellence] is underpinned by an evidence-base published in peer-reviewed journals. Although NICE accept submissions of evidence from stakeholders, which might not be published, this acceptance is only done on the understanding that data are made publicly available. Drug sponsors who withhold trial data (or do not make full trial reports available) undermine the guideline programme, which can ultimately lead to recommendations for treatments that are ineffective, cause harm, or both. Others have suggested that the pharmaceutical industry needs greater regulation, and in particular that all trial data-whether published or unpublished-should be fully accessible. In any event, greater cooperation and openness between the pharmaceutical industry and guideline developers, including gaining access to unpublished full trial reports, is clearly a matter of some urgency; this access would allow critical appraisal of study methodology and inclusion of unpublished data that meet recognised standards of quality. The fact that the drugs reviewed here have previously been recommended for use in children on the basis of a very restricted published evidence base can only serve to increase that sense of urgency”.

This week’s Lancet editorial (p 1335) comments: ‘The story of research into SSRI use in childhood depression is one of confusion, manipulation, and institutional failure. Although published evidence was inconsistent at best, use of SSRIs to treat childhood depression has been encouraged by pharmaceutical companies and clinicians worldwide. Last month, the Canadian Medical Association Journal revealed excerpts from an internal GlaxoSmithKline memorandum demonstrating how the company sought to manipulate the results of published research.

Concerning a study of paroxetine use in children, the memorandum states “It would be unacceptable to include a statement that efficacy had not been demonstrated, as this would undermine the profile of paroxetine”. Last year the UK Committee on Safety of Medicines prohibited the treatment of childhood depression with any SSRI except fluoxetine. Despite this, the Food and Drug Administration in the US appears last week to have failed to act appropriately on information provided to them that these drugs were both ineffective and harmful’.

‘In a global medical culture where evidence-based practice is seen as the gold standard for care, these failings are a disaster. Meta-analysis of published data supports an increasing number of clinical decisions and guidelines, which in turn dictate the use of vast levels of health-care resources. This process is made entirely redundant if its results are so easily manipulated by those with potentially massive financial gains. The global sales of the GlaxoSmithKline SSRI paroxetine, for example, amounted to US $4*97 billion last year alone. Moreover, the utility of organisations such as the National Institute for Clinical Evidence (NICE) is significantly undermined in circumstances where they are only able to access data on health-care products that are seen as advantageous to the product’s manufacturers’.

Contact: Dr Tim Kendalll, National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health; +44 (0)114 271 6715; M) +44 (0)7889 365272

Please mention THE LANCET as the source of this material. Issued by Richard Lane, Press Officer, The Lancet. T) +44 (0)20 7424 4949

FAIR USE NOTICE: This may contain copyrighted (C ) material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. It is believed that this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. This material is distributed without profit.


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