Celexa, Paxil, Prozac & Zoloft, can double the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding,

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FRIDAY,

Oct. 12 -- Antidepressant drugs called

selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs),

which include Celexa, Paxil,

Prozac and Zoloft, can double the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding, and the

threat is more than six times higher if patients take aspirin and similar pain

medications at the same time as SSRIs, a new study

finds.

" Clinicians

who prescribe these medications should be aware of the potential risk and may

need to consider alternatives, " senior researcher Dr. Sonal

Singh, assistant professor of internal medicine at Wake Forest University

School of Medicine, in Winston-Salem, N.C., said in a prepared statement.

His team

published the findings in the journal Alimentary

Pharmacology & Therapeutics.

In

addition to depression, SSRIs are also used to treat

panic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. There's

growing evidence that SSRIs may be associated with

upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding.

Singh and

colleagues analyzed data from four studies involving 153,000 patients. They found that those taking SSRIs

were nearly twice as likely to develop upper GI bleeding as people who weren't

taking the drugs.

When

patients taking SSRIs also took nonsteroidal

anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) -- such as aspirin,

Aleve and Celebrex -- they were six times more likely

to develop upper GI bleeding than people who weren't taking either type of

drug.

The

combined use of SSRIs and NSAIDs

may have a " synergistic effect " that greatly increases the risk of

upper GI bleeding beyond the risk posed by each kind of drug alone, the study

authors suggested.

" While

the risk to an individual may increase by only a small amount, the impact to

the general population is likely to be substantial because of the large numbers

of people who use these drugs, " Singh said.

He and

his colleagues estimated that one of every 411 patients over age 50 taking an SSRI, and one out of 82 taking both an SSRI and

a NSAID, is likely to develop upper GI bleeding requiring hospitalization.

With love, Barb in Texas - Together in the Fight, Whatever it Takes!

Son Ken (33) UC 91 - PSC 99 - Tx 6/21 & 6/30/07 @ Baylor in Dallas