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KON4M 99
May 1999
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Part II
Ian Goddard (Ian@Goddard.net)
* LITTLETON GUNMAN TESTS POSITIVE FOR MANIA-INDUCING DRUG *
ABC's Colorado affiliate KCNC NEWS4 reports (5/4/99) [1]:
"[T]he coroner has released further toxicology reports on Eric Harris, one of the two dead suspects. Specialized testing shows levels of Luvox in Harris' blood in a therapeutic range."
While doctors interviewed by The Washington Post [2] and CNN [3] claim there's no link between Luvox and aggressive behavior, the medical literature gives a different picture. Luvox is the trade name for fluvoxamine, which research shows can induce mania. A study found in the "American Journal of Psychiatry" (9/91, page 1264) concludes:
"Our observations confirm the efficacy of fluvoxamine [ Luvox ] in the treatment of depression but suggest that this drug can induce mania in some patients when it is given at normal doses." [4]
One symptom of mania can be "aggressive behavior." [5] Luvox is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). About such drugs Dr. Jodi Worrel of the Western Missouri Mental Health Center states: "Child and adolescent data suggest worsening of aggression with SSRI treatment."[6] Psychiatric-drug expert Dr. Peter Breggin states [7]:
"According to the manufacturer, Solvay, 4% of children and youth taking Luvox developed mania during short-term controlled clinical trials. Mania is a psychosis which can produce bizarre, grandiose, highly elaborated destructive plans..."
A study published in the "Journal of Clinical Psychiatry" (July 1995, pages 288-96) states about another SSRI drug similar to Luvox: "Fluoxetine-treated patients reported an increased frequency of...anger or aggression." [8] A study by researchers at the Hadassah-Hebrew University School of Medicine in Jerusalem published in the "Annals of Pharmacotherapy" concluded the following about Luvox:
"Our case series suggests that fluvoxamine may have the ability to induce or unmask manic behavior in depressed patients. Clinicians are alerted to monitor for this 'switching' effect..."[9]
In the "American Journal of Psychiatry" 9-91 study, patients suffering Luvox-induced mania were not helped by the anti-mania drug lithium, indeed it seemed to make them worse. Only when the use of Luvox stopped did the patient's mania clear. Not only Luvox causes mania. In a letter published in the "American Journal of Psychiatry" (3/90, page 372), researcher Dr. Alan Lipschitz states:
"I would like to draw your attention to a psychiatric aphorism that illuminates some mood disorder mechanisms: Every antidepressant that does not cure mania causes mania." [10]
So it seems mania is linked to many antidepressants. Eric Harris, who was said to be the leader of the two dead gunman, had been taking a mania-inducing drug and displayed aggressive and unusual behavior indicative of mania prior to his deadly shooting rampage at Columbine High school, when, as tests prove, he was on that mania-inducing drug, Luvox. (relevant http://drugawareness.org) _________________________________________________________
[1] KCNC NEWS4: Columbine Shooting (5/4/99, 12:41 AM ET)
[2] The Washington Post: Shooter Used Often-Prescribed Drug:
http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-04/30/016l-043099-idx.html
[3] CNN: Columbine shooter was prescribed anti-depressant:
http://cnn.com/HEALTH/9904/29/luvox.explainer/index.html
[4] American Journal of Psychiatry: Mania and Fluvoxamine. C.Burrai, A.Bocchetta, M.Zompo, Sept.'91, (148)9, p.1263-4.
[5] Bipolar Disorder (Manic-Depression) Explained:
http://mentalhelp.net/articles/grohol/bipolar.htm
[6] The Psyche: Chronic Treatment of Aggressive Behavior.
By Jodi Worrel, Pharm.D., May 1998 Volume 3, Issue 5.
http://www.med.umkc.edu/thepsyche/pastissu/may98/index.html
http://www.breggin.com/luvox.html
[8] Journal Of Clinical Psychiatry: Postmarketing surveillance by patient self-monitoring: preliminary data for sertraline versus fluoxetine. Fisher, Kent, Bryant, 7/95, 56(7):288-96.
[9] Annals Of Pharmacotherapy: Fluvoxamine-associated manic behavior: a case series. A. Dorevitch, Y. Frankel, A. Bar- Halperin, December 1993, Vol. 27 No. 12, pages 1455-7.
[10] American Journal of Psychiatry: Antidepressants and mania. Alan Lipschitz, March 1990, Vol.147, No.3, p. 372.
Was the Littleton Shooting a Drug-Induced Mania?
http://www.erols.com/igoddard/littleton.htm
GODDARD'S JOURNAL: http://www.erols.com/igoddard/journal.htm
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