Newborn mice given Prozac
grow up depressed
(continued)
The use of SSRIs by pregnant women has been considered safe. For example, studies have shown that these women give birth to babies of normal weights, with unimpaired cognitive and language skills. But more recent research has suggested these medications may cause subtle neurological changes in the developing fetus.
Two years ago, for example, Oberlander and his colleagues reported that babies exposed to SSRIs in the womb were less sensitive to pain. And earlier in 2004, other researchers reported that SSRI-exposed infants had altered sleep patterns and a higher incidence of tremors. But it is not clear if these effects disappear soon after birth.
Difficult decisions
Gingrich's work suggests that even transient treatment with Prozac - and potentially other SSRIs - can have lasting, paradoxical changes. Even though the drug can treat depression in adult mice, it seems to trigger symptoms of depression in mice exposed to it as newborns.
"It suggests that the immature nervous system responds very differently than a mature one to the same drug," he says.
Even with this new evidence, pregnant women with depression still face a difficult decision over whether or not to take SSRIs, says Gingrich. Being depressed carries its own risks to babies since it can lead to poor care-giving and self-harm.
"It's important to assess for each patient whether there are non-pharmacological ways of addressing these emotional problems, while we try to get a handle on what the risks really are," he says.
Journal reference: Science (vol 306, p 879)
Philip Cohen
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