THIS IS OLD NEWS. BUT IT WAS NEWS TO ME. MAY BE NEWS TO SOME OF YOU. DECIDED I WOULD TELL YOU ABOUT IT.
Published in the Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, the paper revealed the following about psych meds:
• 63.6% of antidepressants are associated with carcinogenicity, specifically mirtazapine (Remeron), sertraline (Zoloft), paroxetine (Paxil), citalopram (Celexa), escitalopram (Lexapro), duloxetine (Cymbalta) and bupropion (Wellbutrin).
• 90% of antipsychotics agents are associated with carcinogenicity, including aripiprazole
(Abilify), quetiapine (Seroquel) and all others in this class except for clozapine (Clozaril).
• 70% of benzodiazepines/hypnotics are associated with carcinogenicity,
specifically clonazepam (Klonopin), zolpidem (Ambien), zaleplon (Sonata), diazepam (Valium), eszopiclone (Lunesta), oxazepam (Serax) and midazolam (Versed).
• 25% of amphetamines/stimulants are associated with carcinogenicity, specifically methylphenidate (Ritalin).
• 85.7% of anti-convulsants (“mood stabilizers”) are associated with carcinogenicity, specifically valproate (Depacon), carbamazepine (Tegretol), gabapentin (Neurontin), pregabalin (Lyrica), oxcarbazepine (Trileptal) and topiramate (Topamax).
It’s important to note that the dosage they’re giving these rats and mice is many milligrams per kilogram of body weight, much more than the milligrams per kilogram in a human dose.
This study provided little information about what might occur at lower doses. However, it seems prudent to acknowledge the carcinogenic potential associated with these drugs and look for alternatives where they exist.
If only it were that simple. In biomedicine they don’t have the luxury of modelling on humans by beginning. Instead what they have are a lot of theoretical grounds for questioning thr predictive utiliuy of animal models.