From the Wall Street Journal: Possible Suicide Link Prompts FDA to Probe Merck Asthma Drug
The Food and Drug Administration said it is investigating a possible association between the widely used asthma medication Singulair and behavioral changes, including suicide.
Singulair, made by Merck & Co., is approved to treat asthma and allergy symptoms such as sneezing and stuffy noses, as well as to prevent exercise-induced asthma. The FDA said in a so-called early communication that it is reviewing postmarketing reports of behaviour and mood changes, suicidal thoughts and actions, and actual suicides by patients who took Singulair. The regulator also asked Merck to look at its own database for signs of trouble.
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The FDA said Singulair is effective and that patients shouldn’t stop taking it without talking to their doctors.
Singulair has been used off-label to treat rosacea, some rosacea sufferers swear by it. Certainly some rosacea sufferers feel that there is a link between their allergies and their rosacea symptoms. Other rosacea sufferers have tried many antihistamines and not gotten any relief.
For some background here are two threads that are worth reading:
Rosacea Support Forum: Singulair in conjuction with an H1 & H2 blocker
Rosacea Forum Thread: Singulair is amazing
Accutane has also come under some scrutiny because of reports that it also might lead to behavioural changes. For sure all drugs have side effects and it is worth being reminded to be on the watch for anything out of the ordinary.
1 comment so far ↓
I find it very concerning how quickly the public completely flips out every time there is the hint that some drug may cause a problem. Every time we put something foreign into our bodies there is the potential for a problem. There are possible side effects to everything from Aspirin to Zanax. About as soon as this possible link to depression and I emphasize possible, there were parents already discussing seeing about a class action suit. Talk about jumping the gun. I don’t know if there truly is a link or not. My daughter has been on Singulair for about a year and a half and it has been a life saver for her asthma. I realize that this is a forum for Rosacea but she is taking the drug in question. At this time Singulair has been the only thing that has kept her asthma under control. I thought I would one of the few people who said that they are not having an issue with this particular drug.
There are so many variables when it comes to how each individual’s body will respond to a medication. Sometimes I worry though that people look for problems where there aren’t any. If someone has genuinely had a problem with Singulair, I hope that they find something that does work for them instead. It concerns me though that there may be some psychosomatic symptoms that crop up in those with over active imaginations though. The power of suggestion is amazing. That is how placebos function. It seems sometimes that we are very quick to come to conclusions before solid evidence is finished being gathered and studied.
One time I was put on a drug that practically made me comatose but worked wonderfully for another patient. It wasn’t the drug, it was my personal physiology. As a parent of a child currently taking Singulair, I am being watchful but I am not jumping ship.
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