Medication linked to councilwoman drew FDA warning in 2009 - Zyban/Wellbutrin

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Medication linked to councilwoman drew FDA warning in 2009

By

Harasim

LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Posted: Jan. 28, 2011 | 2:07 a.m.

So many problems had arisen with the smoking cessation drug

Zyban that in 2009 the Food and Drug Administration sent out

warnings about the medication to both consumers and health care

professionals.

Some people who had taken the drug, the FDA reported on July 1,

2009, became hostile and agitated and "have reported

experiencing unusual behavioral changes, have become depressed

or have had their depression worsen, or have had thoughts about

suicide or dying; some have attempted suicide" either while

using the drug or "after they stopped."

Two weeks after Mesquite City Councilwoman Donna Fairchild told

people she stopped taking Zyban, police believe she fatally shot

her husband and then killed herself.

Authorities have not suggested that the drug, which is also

marketed as the anti-depressant Wellbutrin, could have played a

role in the tragedy, which has Mesquite residents wondering how

such out-of-character behavior by a well-liked public figure

could have occurred.

"It would be quite a stretch to conclude that the drug caused

that behavior," said Dr. Ole Thienhaus, chairman of the

department of psychiatry at the University of Nevada School of

Medicine. "But you can never say zero, zilch, nothing when it

comes to how somebody reacts to something."

On Wednesday County Assistant Coroner Fudenberg said

the drug, which generically is known as bupropion, "is something

we screen for."

But he also said that under Nevada law toxicology reports

aren't available to the public, only to law enforcement and

legal next of kin.

Fudenberg did say, however, that if the drug is seen as a major

contributing factor in the deaths, it would be listed on the

death certificates, which are public record.

It was after a Jan. 11 council meeting that Fairchild told

friends that she had stopped taking Zyban. She had started a

smoking cessation class in October, so it's possible she could

have been on the drug for more than three months.

Thienhaus, who said he has prescribed Wellbutrin to patients

with depression, said he knows of no study that shows stopping

the drug causes violent behavior.

"There's quite a difference between an association and

causality," he said, pointing out that Zyban and Wellbutrin are

"exactly the same drug."

As with all antidepressants, Thienhaus said medical

professionals warn that studies have shown that for a small

number of people who take antidepressants it is possible that

they may experience suicidal thoughts and attempts.

"The number of actual attempts and suicides is so small that no

study can say antidepressants actually cause them," he said.

Despite the relative safety of antidepressants, some studies

have suggested that they may have unintentional effects on some

people, especially adolescents and young adults. In 2005 and

2007, the FDA adopted warning label on antidepressant

medications to alert the public about the potential increased

risk of suicidal thinking or attempts in children and

adolescents taking antidepressants. One warning emphasizes that

patients of all ages taking antidepressants should be closely

monitored, especially during the initial weeks of treatment.

The Review-Journal reported Thursday that a close friend said

that Fairchild, 52, "seemed fine" in the hours before she killed

her husband and herself.

"She was not despondent," according to the friend,

Giarratana of Mesquite. "She was not lethargic. I had no

indication anything was wrong."

Thienhaus says people should not be surprised if the reason for

what happened never is known.

"Sometimes we just don't know what drives people to do

something like this," he said.

Contact reporter Harasim at pharasim@...

or 702-387-2908.