Paxil is the brand name for the anti-depressant drug paroxetine that is sold in the United States and Canada by pharmaceutical manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline. The medication is a powerful anti-depressant that many doctors use for other purposes as well. Secondary prescriptions may be applied for people that are prone to panic attacks, severe anxiety and PTSD, or post traumatic stress disorder. There are an estimated seventeen million users of this medication worldwide.
Paxil has been somewhat controversial since it was initially put on the market. There have been sufficient instances of outbursts among Paxil users that the FDA has advised physicians against prescribing Paxil for children and teenagers. Among these age groups there is evidence that the likelihood of both violence and suicidal tendencies is increased by the use of Paxil.
There is also a growing body of evidence suggesting that Paxil use by pregnant mothers can result in an increased level of birth defects. Specifically, infants delivered by women who take Paxil show a significant increase in the likelihood of birth defects.
Since September, 2005 information has been emerging that Paxil may cause birth defects, including:
- cardiac (heart)
- pulmonary - PPHN (lung)
- neural-tube defects (brain and spinal cord)
- craniosynostosis (abnormally shaped skull)
- infant omphalocele (abdominal wall defects)
- club foot (one or both feet turn downward and inward)
- anal atresia (complete or partial closure of the anus)
Heart Defects: The FDA issued a Public Health Advisory for Paxil on December 8, 2005 based on U.S. and Swedish studies showing that exposure to Paxil in the first trimester of pregnancy may be associated with an increased risk of heart defects. Most of the cardiac defects observed in these studies were atrial or ventricular septal defects, conditions in which the wall between the right and left sides of the heart is not completely developed. In general, septal defects are one of the most common types of congenital malformations.
PPHN: On July 19, 2006 the FDA issued another Public Health Advisory for Celexa (citalopram), Fluvoxamine, Lexapro (escitalopram), Paxil (paroxetine), Prozac (fluoxetine, Symbyax (olanzapine and fluoxetine) and Zoloft (sertraline) based on a study that suggests there may be additional risks of SSRI medications during pregnancy. In this study PPHN was six times more common in babies whose mothers took an SSRI antidepressant after the 20th week of the pregnancy compared to babies whose mothers did not take an antidepressant.
The most common problem associated with Paxil use is the development of persistent primary hypertension in newborns, also referred to as PPHN. Two studies conducted independently of each other showed that children born to women who took Paxil during the first trimester of pregnancy had heart defects at birth at up to twice the rate of occurrence among all births.
Paxil has been the subject of more controversy than any other antidepressant on the market. If one of your family members has had any of the medical issues described above and has used Paxil, get in touch with our office and one of our attorneys will review your case in depth for you at no charge. Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed over harm done by this drug; it has become a medication that many physicians are hesitant to prescribe as the result of stories and studies on its negative effects.
