Japan bans Tamiflu for teenagers

[Guest guest]

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn11451-japan-bans-tamiflu-for-teenagers-.ht\

ml

 

Japan officials said the anti-flu drug Tamiflu should not be given to teenagers,

after two boys aged 12 and 16 broke their legs jumping from the second floor of

their houses.

The ban follows earlier cases of odd behaviour - including some suicides - in

Japanese teens taking Tamiflu (see

http://www.newscientist.com/channel/health/dn10527).

However, a large new study casts doubt over whether the drug is to blame for

psychiatric problems.

The company that makes Tamiflu, Roche Holdings in Basel, Switzerland, told New

Scientist that new data shows that people with flu are less at risk of

psychiatric symptoms if they take the drug. Reddy, in charge of Tamiflu at

Roche, says the company is about to publish data, collected by two large

insurance companies in the US, on 226,000 people with flu, of whom 101,500 took

Tamiflu.

Between 2% and 5% of patients in both drug and non-drug groups had

neuro-psychiatric symptoms including encephalitis (inflammation of the lining of

the brain), delusion, delirium, anxiety and hallucination. But, says Reddy,

people on Tamiflu had significantly fewer symptoms.

Reduced effects

More than three-quarters of the Tamiflu taken globally so far has been taken in

Japan. The number of people and time spent on the drug there now adds up to

380,000 " patient-years " , says Reddy. Japan's national suicide rate is 25 per

100,000 people. Therefore, by extension, " 95 people should have committed

suicide while they were on Tamiflu just ordinarily by now, and we haven't seen

that, " Reddy says. In fact, only two people are known to have committed suicide

while on the drug.

Flu itself has neuro-psychiatric effects, when chemicals called cytokines

produced as part of the innate immune response to the virus cause brain

inflammation. " But Tamiflu lowers the amount of virus, so it should reduce these

effects, " says Reddy.

Treanor, an expert on flu drugs at the University of Rochester, has seen

Roche's data. " There has not been a suggestion of neuro-psychiatric side effects

[caused by Tamiflu] in the clinical trials [in people], and the database

analysis they have done also doesn't show such an association, " he told New

Scientist. " However, when you get reports like this it is important to

investigate thoroughly. "

The Japanese government says 54 people have died while taking the drug. Fifteen

people aged between 10 and 19 have jumped from buildings, and another ran into

traffic, while taking Tamiflu. Five of these have died since 2004, although it

is unknown whether they intended to kill themselves. In addition, there have

been seven reported cases of odd behaviour in adults taking the drug - two of

whom committed suicide.

Political decision

Masato Tashiro, head of flu at Japan's National Institute of Infectious

Diseases, told New Scientist that the drug's withdrawal " is a highly political

and sensitive issue, rather than science " . However, he says, we know too little

about it. " My personal concern is that Tamiflu might invade the brain through

the blood-brain barrier. "

The barrier forms a highly impenetrable layer of tissue that prevents many

chemicals from crossing from the blood into the brain. In 2004, Roche said the

drug should not be given to infants under one year of age, after experiments in

mice showed it depressed brain activity and caused death in animals too young to

have a fully-formed barrier.

Normally, Tamiflu cannot penetrate the barrier. But it becomes more permeable

when the tissue is inflamed, as can happen in flu. Japanese doctors fear that

Tamiflu might be getting into the brain, depressing activity and " disinhibiting "

some behaviours.

South Korea, New Zealand, Taiwan and the European Union's medicines agency have

renewed warnings to doctors to watch for odd behaviour in teenagers on the drug,

but have not withdrawn it.

Love, Gabby. :0)

http://stemcellforautism.blogspot.com/

 

" I know of nobody who is purely Autistic or purely neurotypical. Even God had

some Autistic moments, which is why the planets all spin. " ~ Jerry Newport

 

 

[Guest guest]

I know why this happens.

Tamiflu works by altering the DNA of the cells.

One should always be cautious when doing things to alter the DNA, especially

during growth spurts, puberty, pregnancy, or menopause. (etc...etc...) Crazy

things can happen.