Posted by shadows721 on April 3, 2004, at 16:16:29
In reply to Duloxetine: antidepressant drug trial turns deadly, posted by rvanson on April 2, 2004, at 14:03:12
It does appear to me that the rapid decrease of the high dosage of this drug played a factor in this young woman's death. Since there was no note, it looks like this was an impulsive decision. She was predisposed to committing suicide from the previous history and should not have been accepted into this study.
What really got my attention was the comment by another in the study. She stated that people were laughing and crying inappropriately. That the room was like a mad house. That doesn't sit right with me. That sounds very odd. That sounds like this drug was really affecting one's mood too drastically. I have a feeling it had to do with dosage levels.
I am not a scientist, but it seems like this drug should have been tested on depressed people with no history of attempting suicide. How can you tell its really helping depression if the participants aren't depressed? For example, shouldn't a drug for high blood pressure be used on those with high blood pressure to see if it is effective?
I think there was a lack of conclusive data. In order to correctly conduct a study, there must be a group of those with the condition for which the medication is needed. Testing a drug on adults with no history of depression doesn't seem valid. It seems like a play with death to experiment so much on those without the condition for which the drug is not benefiting. That set of participants are only going to respond with side effects and no benefit.
poster:shadows721
thread:331801
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040402/msgs/332139.html