Posted by pianolady on August 20, 2003, at 18:48:25
In reply to Re: SSRI TOXICITY- please read!, posted by Shawn. T. on August 19, 2003, at 22:38:01
I cannot answer all of your questions on the subject, but I do know a little about the subject you are questioning. I just finished taking a graduate class in psychopharmacology and we discussed neurotoxicity. The truth is that in theory neurotoxicity COULD occur with any psychotropic (psychiatric) drug. But the reality is that the likelihood on antidepressants is extremely slim. The early antipsychotics and drugs of that nature might have a slightly higher likelihood, but all of the therapeutic drugs must have extensive testing to show that the drugs are safe.
Now, don't get me wrong, taking prescribed drugs is always at least a little risky because all drugs have side effects, etc. But I don't think neurotoxicity should be a factor in a decision of whether to use the typical antidepressant drugs or not.
Rather, you might want to look at the neurotoxicity of alcohol, nicotine, or street drugs. Many of these drugs do have a considerably lower threshold for neurotoxicity than most prescribed drugs. In fact, alcohol is a reasonably strong neurotoxin. I say all of this to put things in perspective. Yes, there is some negligible risk in neverland of neurotoxicity with an antidepressant, but it would be of far greater importance to look at drugs that are known to be neurotoxic, rather than a highly unlikely med like antidepressants.
I hope you find that this sorts out some of the subject matter for you. Also, I would encourage you to do some research for yourself beyond the single article that you found. Find articles on both sides of the issue and then make an informed decision about what makes the most sense and seems to be most scientifically sound. (But don't let lots of scientific words equal a scientifically sound proof unless you understand the scientific background).
Good luck in your quest.
poster:pianolady
thread:252223
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030818/msgs/252588.html