THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 16, 1996 TAG: 9607160045
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY WENDY GROSSMAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 49 lines
EVEN THOUGH anti-depressants like Prozac are regularly prescribed for depressed children, the Food and Drug Administration has not approved them for kids under 18.
Now, a Richmond child psychiatrist is exploring whether anti-depressants even work in children.
``There's very little research for depression that says the medicine is better than not doing anything (for children),'' says Bela Sood, associate professor of psychiatry and director of the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program at the Medical College of Virginia.
So far, Sood has found that anti-depressants only work about half the time in children - about the same effectiveness as sugar-pill placebos.
Placebos produce immediate results, but their effects don't last as long as those of the drugs, she says.
However, from case studies and her own patients, Sood said she - like other psychiatrists - thinks that anti-depressants, which re-balance the brain's chemistry, can be an essential part of treating children's depression.
``If it's a physical condition of the brain, then I can't talk somebody out of it any more than I could a broken leg,'' says Abbot Granoff, a Norfolk child psychiatrist. ``I have to put a cast on it.''
Although the FDA hasn't approved anti-depressants for children, Granoff says there is plenty of literature indicating they are safe and effective.
``I prescribe things all the time that aren't FDA approved,'' Granoff said.
Doctors are required to tell parents that the drugs haven't been tested on kids. Still, many parents take the risk.
A Chesapeake woman, whose two sons, now 23 and 29, started taking anti-depressants Granoff prescribed when they were 5 and 17, said drugs were needed to treat a hereditary form of depression.
``I was not very happy about it,'' says the woman, who asked not to be identified. ``Any parent with a child in that situation should feel not easy, but willing, I think, to at least give the drugs a try - but make sure it's done under very close supervision.''
Granoff closely monitored the two boys with weekly visits. He still treats them with anti-depressants and said they have had no side effects.
In 1994, according to one study, almost 1,000 children under age 18 were given prescriptions for the top three anti-depressants - Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft.
So far, prescribing exact dosages of anti-depressants for children is a hit-or-miss proposition. The doctor talks to the patient and the parents and keeps trying until the right combination is found, Granoff says.
Such haphazard prescribing can be risky, says Sood.
However, it's a risk some doctors are willing to take. by CNB