The Prozac Calamity~Checkbook Science~Video

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_http://www.cchrint.org/2009/08/12/the-prozac-calamity/_

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The Prozac Calamity by award winning Scientist Shane Ellison

By Shane Ellison, Award winning Scientist, Masters Degree in Organic

Chemistry

I love Big Pharma. After getting a masters degree in drug design, I was

fortunate enough to work within their stinky labs and learn the inner workings

of corporate drug making (and dealing). My most important lesson: Not all

drugs are bad. Some are really bad. Take the so-called antidepressant

Prozac as an example.

In 1990, Prozac appeared on the cover of the pharmaceutically compliant,

Newsweek magazine with the headline “Prozac: A Breakthrough Drug for

Depression.†It was designed almost twenty years prior. And during that time,

some

ghastly findings were made which proved the drug to be the antithesis of

what popular media touted it as. Such findings were kept hidden. Patients are

learning the hard way.

Thirteen days after taking the SSRI Prozac, on April 28, 2003, Jordan’s

wife of 56 years, Kathy, found his lifeless body hanging from a beam in a back

room of their shop. Not depressed at the time of his appointment, Jordan

was given a free sample of Prozac for “chest pains!†Apparently, a pretty

drug rep convinced Jordan’s doctor that Prozac could be used for these types

of “off-label†purposes. By FDA standards, this is totally illegal. But

those standards are never enforced by the consumer watch dog turned Big

Pharma lap dog. Regardless of what they are prescribed for, Prozac is a real

and present danger to SSRI users.

SSRI’s strive to increase the levels of a “coping†molecule known as

serotonin in the brain. It helps us FIND happiness when it’s covered in an

avalanche of nastiness. SSRI’s attempt to boost serotonin by “selectivelyâ€

stopping the “reuptake†of it among brain cells. This is where the whole

SSRI

acronym came from – “selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor.†It’s a

slick name that seems to hypnotize medical doctors into prescribing submission,

but it’s a really stupid idea.

Nothing is selective in the body. While trying to block the reuptake of

serotonin, SSRI’s can also prevent its release. The areas of the brain

responsible for release and reuptake are so damn similar (after all, they work

on

the same molecule) that an SSRI isn’t smart enough to understand which one

it is supposed to work on. So it does what any dumb drug would do, it

blocks both. The end result: no coping molecules in the brain. Deep sadness,

fear or anger can set in. Early studies proved this.

The first testing of Prozac was performed on dogs and cats. Every trial

showed that Prozac use caused aggression amongst these normally calm and

friendly animals, as could be seen by increased hissing and growling. When the

animals were taken off of the drug, they returned to their usual friendly

behavior. Researchers concluded that Prozac use causes aggressive behavior.

By mid 1978, Prozac testing moved to humans in controlled clinical trials

involving more than 4000 patients. In an attempt to hide its aggressive

tendencies, the study allowed for voluntary dropout of those who experienced

the most severe side effects. Additionally, clinical investigators were

allowed to administer concurrent sedatives to patients to further mask

Prozac’s

side effects that would most likely lead to violence/suicide. This is a

common loophole used by drug company-funded drug trials and is known as “

checkbook science.†Despite the lack of scientific methodology, this study

concluded that Prozac works well to a “statistically significant†degree in

a

population of depressed patients.

Since its approval, the potential for Prozac calamity has become

frighteningly clear amongst both professionals and the public. Reports of

Prozac-associated suicide, written by D. Hagerty and distributed by the

Drugs

and Devices Information Line at the Harvard School of Public Health,

dominated the “Letters to the Editor†section of the American Journal of

Psychiatry during the fall of 1990.

Under the FDA’s own analysis, there have been more than 20,000

Prozac-related suicides since 1987.

Clinical studies performed on Prozac show 191 negative side effects per 100

people. This equates to almost two negative side effects for every user of

the drug.

The FDA continues to ignore the Prozac body count (they approved Prozac’s

use for children in 2003). To make matters worse, the FDA granted its

manufacturer, Eli Lilly, extended patent protection. In order to procure thirty

additional months of earning power, Eli Lilly changed the name of Prozac to

Sarafem, while at the same time labeling common personality and biological

shifts as a disease among women; this “disease†being premenstrual

irritability. As a result, thousands of unsuspecting women were given Prozac

for

premenstrual irritability while at the same time increasing their chances of

suffering from the aforementioned negative side effects such as

aggression, and suicide.

Such lessons got me out of corporate drug making. Thankfully, they taught

me how not to be healthy: Take prescription drugs. You can do the same, just

say no to Prozac.

About the Author

Ellison’s entire career has been dedicated to the study of molecules; how

they give life and how they take from it. He was a two-time recipient of the

prestigious Medical Institute Research Grant for his

research in biochemistry and physiology. He is a best selling author, holds a

master’s degree in organic chemistry and has first-hand experience in drug

design. Use his knowledge and insight to look and feel your best with his

Secret Cures monthly report. Get it free at _www.thepeopleschemist.com_

(http://www.thepeopleschemist.com/)

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