Loading...
The small but real risk for suicide in youth taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors is well documented but still poorly understood. These researchers administered 1.25, 2.50, or 5.00 mg/kg/day of paroxetine for 2, 4, 8, and 14 days to adult and young rats and measured its ability to reduce activity in the locus ceruleus (LC), the main noradrenergic center. This reduction, observed in depressed humans treated with antidepressants, is thought to underlie their therapeutic effect.
A fourth dose (0.625 mg/kg/day) was also studied but showed no effect on any test. Adult rats showed the expected effects in the LC. However, in young rats, paradoxical LC activity increases occurred at days 2 and 4 at 1.25 and 2.50 mg/kg/day doses (but not at…