Recent research shows that differing personalities in mice give insight into human depression. A psychologist at the University of the Basque Country, Eneritz Gomez, discovered that humans and mice have a common response toward depression The results of her study provide valuable clues in knowing how humans deal with depression symptoms and life-threatening behaviors like suicide The study illustrated how coping with stress varies from person to person.

According to Gomez, “not all living things possess adequate coping skills, which can often lead to depression.”

She is hoping that “the findings will provide the information needed to devise more specialized treatments for depression.”

Depression is ruminated as a brain disorder, according to medical research Its causes could be from psychological, genetic, environmental and biochemical factors, like drug and alcohol intake.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the criteria for depression include fatigue, migraines, digestive problems, social withdrawal, and reduced sex drive.

Depression May be Life-altering

Another case of antidepressant-related suicide was reported in August 2011 Wade Belak, a retired 35-year-old National Hockey League player was found lifeless in a Toronto hotel apparently from suicide. He was a retired National Hockey League player An article in the Globe and Mail revealed that his mom knew of Belak battling depression and taking antidepressant drugs The real reason for the suicide remained unknown.

In an article from Medical Publishing’s Prescription Medicines, Side Effects and Natural Alternatives, a jury in Wyoming conformed that Zoloft, an antidepressant drug, caused a man to kill his wife, daughter and granddaughter before killing himself in June 2001. An amount of $8 million in damages were given to the family of the victims.

When put into therapy after their suicide attempts, most patients claim they do so while “trying to escape from a situation that seemed impossible to deal with or to get relief from really bad thoughts or feelings.” In other words, they were suffering from depression.

Studies Associate Antidepressant Use to Suicides

The US Food and Drug Administration in 2005 has mandated public health advisories stating that taking antidepressant drugs can incite suicidal thoughts. These warnings were considered too late for the victims of Zoloft The FDA additionally asked the manufacturers to clearly attach explicit label cautions about the antidepressant’s harmful side effects, including the risk of suicide.

Evaluating results from 372 studies about antidepressant drugs, the FDA discovered that they may cause children and teenagers to be suicidal, violent, hostile and irrational. The FDA directed antidepressant manufacturing companies to place a “black box” warning to the drug Black box warnings are issued if the medication carries the risk of a fatal, life-threatening, or permanently-disabling side effect.

In addition to these warnings and reviews, medical reports from patients also include complaints about the negative side effects of the drug This urged them to file Zoloft lawsuit against Pfizer, its drug manufacturer.

References:
nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/depression.html
webmd.com/depression/news/20070502/new-antidepressant-suicide-warning
mcmanweb.com/FDA_suicide.htm
washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/13/AR2006121300452.html
naturalnews.com/019342.html

A world-wide campaign against depression has been conducted by several non-profit organizations (NGOs) such as Natasha Goulbourn Foundation.  The foundation is encouraging people with depression to heal in a natural way rather than automatically take medications to avoid serious side effects from antidepressant medications.

Just like a recent study about women suffering from depression has put their unborn children at risk when they take an antidepressant like Zoloft. Some women who took the medicine while pregnant are filing a Zoloft birth defects lawsuits against Pfizer, the manufacturer of the antidepressant, for the  birth defects.Alternative should have been given to avoid this kind of situations.

Recently, a report from Reuter’s states that talk therapy can be a good alternative to get rid of depression, however, some patients complained that the therapy’s sessions are too costly compared with the prescribed antidepressant drugs like Zoloft which is being covered by their health insurance.

To heal major depression, Zoloft is being used to prevent such illness which is considered as serious causing mood and physiological changes that interferes with the  person’s  usual daily activities.

 Depressive symptoms is the biochemical imbalance in the brain and considered also as a disturbance in the brain’s chemical messenger called neurotransmitters.

 Some will experience Zoloft withdrawal symptoms if a patient discontinues his medication right away.

The most common side effects of Zoloft includes nausea, diarrhea or loose stools, tremor, insomnia, drowsiness, and dry mouth while on medication.

Therefore, if experiencing the pain of depression, it is important to know when to see a doctor such as observing  one’s behavior and thinking for at least two weeks; when there is significant impairment of social and occupational functioning; if normal stresses of life do not explain the symptoms; and when rest and relaxation have not helped.

Women under Zoloft medication, who desires to conceive or has already conceived is advised to see their healthcare provider to prevent Zoloft birth defects which can lead to a Zoloft lawsuit.


References:
http://www.toddlertime.com/med/zoloft.htm
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=733463&publicationSubCategoryId=111

The increase in the number of pregnant women taking medications, including antidepressants as shown in a study does not bode well with Zoloft linked to the increased risk of birth defects among infants whose mothers were taking the medication during their pregnancy. Researchers from the Boston University School of Public Health said that the number of women using medication in the first trimester has increased by more than 60 percent now as compared to 30 years ago.   

 The birth defects could either be minor or life-threatening which could mean permanent injury or death to the infants.  Pfizer-manufactured Zoloft and other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) have been linked more and more to these birth defects for the past few years.   

Zoloft, the brand name of Sertraline, is one of the most prescribed drugs in the world to treat a number of conditions such as depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic attacks, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), social anxiety disorder and premenstrual dysphoric disorder.  The medication works by increasing serotonin, a natural substance in the brain, needed to maintain mental balance.

 The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an alert in the prescription of the drug after several studies suggested that infants born to mothers who took Zoloft or other SSRIs after the 20th week of their pregnancy were six times more likely to have persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPHN) as compared to infants whose mothers did not take antidepressants during their pregnancy. PPHN causes newborns to have increased pressure in the blood vessels in their lungs resulting to not enough oxygen into their bloodstream.   

Aside from neonatal PPHN, other birth defects reportedly associated with Zoloft are septal heart defects wherein the baby has a hole in the heart and omphalocele, a condition wherein some parts of the baby’s intestines are found outside the abdominal wall. And the list of birth defects does not stop there as studies now include cranial skull defects, spina bifida, anal atresia and limb reduction defects.  Infants inflicted with any of these birth defects would need to undergo prolonged hospitalization, respiratory support, and tube feeding.   

Problems have also been known to be encountered during the infants’ delivery and these include respiratory distress, cyanosis, apnea, seizures, temperature instability, feeding difficulty, vomiting, hypoglycemia, hypotonia, hypertonia, hyperreflexia, tremor, jitteriness, irritability, and constant crying.  These defects are listed as probably due to either a direct toxic effect of the medication or a drug withdrawal syndrome on the Zoloft drug insert.

 Because there are no adequate, well-controlled studies in pregnant women, FDA classified Zoloft as a Pregnancy category C drug.  The benefits of using SSRIs during pregnancy should be weighed against the potential risks it poses, according to the DFA which also recommended a thorough discussion between doctors and patients.