How Best to Protect Your Baby?
Pregnant women may wonder whether to give up their anti-depressants. Two new studies have found that women on a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor such as Prozac during pregnancy may risk affecting their child. The reports come on the heels of another last month showing that women who stop taking the drugs are apt to sink back into depression--which itself has been linked to preterm delivery and low birth weight. One study, in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that taking SSRIs after the 20th week of pregnancy raised the risk of persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn, a rare but serious condition in which an infant's circulatory system does not develop properly. The Food and Drug Administration called those results "very concerning"and announced that it may ask for labeling changes on the drugs. The other, in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, found that 30 percent of babies born to women on SSRIs experienced several days of withdrawal symptoms, such as trouble sleeping and tremors. Experts advise women to talk to their doctors about the pros and cons of halting medication.
Better Clean Up Your Act Early; News Flash for People With ADHD; No Better Than a Placebo
Better Clean Up Your Act Early
People who hit age 50 without diabetes, high cholesterol, a smoking habit, or a weight problem almost eliminate their risk of cardiovascular disease. A study published in this week's Circulation found that men and women with no risk factors at age 50 have only a 5.2 and 8.2 percent chance, respectively, of later heart attack or stroke. With two risk factors, the figures jump to 68.9 percent in men and 50.2 percent in women. The healthier men and women lived years longer, too. Good reason to shape up while you're young, says Donald Lloyd-Jones, a Northwestern University researcher and lead author. - Cory Hatch
News Flash for People With ADHD
Alarmed by 25 sudden deaths in people taking certain drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, an FDA panel last week recommended a "black box" warning that the drugs might cause cardiovascular problems. The FDA also found 54 nonfatal problems, including heart attack and stroke in adults and children on Ritalin, Adderall, Concerta, and other stimulants. It's not clear whether the drugs were at fault; some people had high blood pressure and other underlying issues. People with heart problems and hypertension are already cautioned about stimulants. For others, for now, "I don't think the risk in any way justifies not using it,"says Larry Diller, a pediatrician and author of Running on Ritalin. Millions take the drugs safely each day, he notes. - Nancy Shute
No Better Than a Placebo
The prostate gland has two inconvenient features: It wraps around the urethra, and it keeps growing. For older men, urinating often is difficult. Many take saw palmetto, a palm berry extract, to ease symptoms. But a study published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine found it to be no more effective than a placebo. Drug treatments have side effects. What to do? Maybe nothing, if symptoms are minor, says lead author Stephen Bent, an internist at the University of California-San Francisco. - Helen Fields
This story appears in the February 20, 2006 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.