Convicted of murder, soldier says Chantix made him do it

Convicted of recruit's murder, soldier blames anti-smoking drug
McClatchy Washington Bureau
By Michael Doyle
Published: May 4, 2014

WASHINGTON — Early one Sunday evening six years ago, Army Pfc. George D.B. MacDonald made his way through his Fort Benning barracks to the bunk where a 23-year-old recruit named Rick Bulmer lay sleeping.

They were strangers.

Wielding a 3-inch, double-edged knife, MacDonald stabbed and slashed Bulmer more than 50 times. He started with the throat, but didn’t stop there. Bulmer awoke and fought back, but he never had a chance.

With the May 18, 2008, homicide, MacDonald ended one life and tore apart many others. The 19-year-old onetime Eagle Scout created a widow and a fatherless child. He stole a son and took a beloved brother.

“I snapped and didn’t like it,” MacDonald wrote, about nine hours after the killing. “I was stretched and it made me crazy.”

What triggered the promising young paratrooper’s homicidal outburst?

MacDonald blames Chantix, a smoking-cessation drug used to wean people from their addiction to nicotine. A military jury didn’t buy his story, and in December 2009 he was convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

On Sunday, May 18, during drills, his leg apparently hurt and he returned to the barracks. It was just past 6 p.m.

Bulmer fell asleep on his bunk. Elsewhere in the same barracks, MacDonald was reading “Lord of the Rings.”

MacDonald got up to do laundry and without knowing why, he said later, slipped a 3-inch knife into his pocket. He left his room, and came to Bulmer’s bunk. He said later that he thought for about 30 seconds. Then he attacked.
read more here

Anti smoking drug may increase suicide risk, study says again and again

These reports started to come out in 2008 but as you can see from this report from CNN, they haven't done anything about it.

Anti smoking drug may increase suicide risk, study says
November 3rd, 2011
The popular quit-smoking drug Chantix may increase the risk of suicide and suicidal thoughts in some patients, says a new report.

Researchers looked at more than 3,000 reports of "neuropsychiatric adverse events" - unexpected problems that result in risk or harm to the patient -relating to smoking cessation drugs, and found that more than 90% of the reports were associated with Chantix use.

"We compared people who took nicotine replacement therapy, Zyban and Chantix," said Dr. Curt Furberg, a study author, and professor of public health sciences at Wake Forrest Baptist Medical Center. "There was an increase in suicides even with nicotine replacement therapies, but Chantix was 8-10 times worse."

But the findings were in stark contrast to a report released just last week by the Food and Drug Administration, which claimed no difference in suicide risk between the three therapies. Furberg says the FDA's report was woefully underpowered.

[The FDA report] looked at hospitalized events," he said. "82% of all serious adverse events do not lead to hospitalization, so that means they missed 82% of all of the serious adverse events."
read more here

ANTHONY J. PRINCIPI DEFENDS HIMSELF
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Anti-smoking drug study investigated
Audrey Hudson (Contact)
Sunday, July 20, 2008

Officials with the Department of Veterans Affairs are preparing to determine who was at fault for failing to quickly notify participants in a smoking-cessation study about the potentially dangerous side effects of a drug they were prescribed and whether the study will be ended.

Dr. Tom Puglisi, chief officer of the VA's Office of Research Oversight, says he has several concerns that veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were prescribed the smoking-cessation drug Chantix without receiving timely written information or warnings about its possible side effects, which can include psychosis and suicidal behavior.
click link above

A few more links showing this has been an ongoing problem that has still not been corrected.
VA $30 lab rats and Chantix Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Anti-addiction drugs linked to depression Thursday, April 24, 2008

Suicide Warning Issued for Chantix and Zyban

These drugs work fine for some people. I've written before how they helped an elderly aunt and uncle quit successfully. The warning should be taken seriously for anyone with a mental health issue. Especially troubling right now is that the military has said they want to crack down on smoking. If they want to use these products, fine, but they better be prepared to make sure they are paying close attention to the troops that take them.

Suicide Warning Issued for 2 Anti-Smoking Drugs
By GARDINER HARRIS
Published: July 1, 2009
WASHINGTON — Federal drug regulators warned Wednesday that patients taking two popular stop-smoking drugs should be watched closely for signs of serious mental illness, as reported suicides among the drugs’ users mount.

But officials emphasized that patients should not be scared away from taking the smoking-cessation medicines, Chantix, made by Pfizer, and Zyban, made by GlaxoSmithKline.

“Stopping smoking is a goal we should all be working towards,” said Dr. Curt Rosebraugh, director of a drug evaluation office at the F.D.A. “We don’t want to scare people off from trying a medication that could help them achieve this goal. You should just be careful.”
The F.D.A. required Pfizer and Glaxo to place so-called black box warnings — the agency’s most serious caution — on the prescribing information for both drugs. Both companies will be required to conduct clinical trials to assess the mental health risks associated with the drugs’ uses.
go here for more
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/02/health/02drug.html?_r=1&hp

More data links anti-smoking drug, suicide

Warning was ignored and too many died as a result. There is a hidden story in all of this. It's what it did to the families of the veterans that took this drug while trying to heal from PTSD. They hallucinated on top of having this drug make depression worse. I've heard reports of them acting as if they were in combat still and trying to seek cover dodging enemy bullets and IED's while driving. We may never know how much damage was done by using this drug on the wrong people. Again, I have to say that it worked for an aunt and uncle of mine very well, but they were not coping with PTSD or depression.

More data links anti-smoking drug, suicide
NavyTimes.com - Springfield,VA,USA



By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Mar 11, 2009 16:25:30 EDT

A new study from the Food and Drug Administration appears to back up claims that a smoking-cessation drug used by service members and veterans may put them at risk for suicidal thoughts.

In fiscal 2007, some 67,580 service members had prescriptions for the medication, according to the Defense Department.

The study, published recently in the Journal of the American Medical Association, linked varenicline with 19 deaths and 112 serious incidents involving injury, hospitalization or emergency intervention after people took the drug to help them stop smoking.

The FDA called a link between suicidal ideation and the drug “likely” — even for those with no prior history of mental health issues — and said it’s important for physicians to monitor patients who take the drug.

“Continued reports of crashes and other serious adverse events among patients taking this drug also have raised concerns about other possible risks,” the JAMA article stated.
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Who turned the VA into Veteran's Adversary?

Was it President Bush, or Nicholson or the congress? Someone turned the VA into Veteran's Adversary instead of being there for them.

VA grapples with veterans' mental traumas
Washington Times - Washington,DC,USA
Audrey Hudson
Sunday, December 28, 2008

Service members returning from Afghanistan and Iraq increasingly are suffering from mental trauma that dampens their homecomings, hobbles their re-entry into civilian life and imperils their continued military service - a situation the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has sought to address with treatment, counseling and even drug experimentation.

But even as the VA has worked to provide quality health care for millions of veterans at its facilities across the country, it has endured a series of failures - from not notifying test subjects about new drug warnings to ignoring safeguards during experiments. Those failures have damaged the reputation of the agency charged with supporting vulnerable veterans.

But it also has compromised the speedy recovery of those vets.

President-elect Barack Obama, who has named retired Gen. Eric K. Shinseki as incoming VA secretary, will have to deal with those long-standing discrepancies in the agency, as well as seek out new solutions to remedy the mental health problems plaguing an ever-growing population of veterans.

"Wars are supposed to end when the last shots are fired, but some of our new veterans will unfortunately have to cope with internal demons that may last their lifetime," said Joe Davis, spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Chantix

Mr. Obama, Mr. Filner and other lawmakers on both sides of the aisle called for an investigation into a smoking cessation study, which Mr. Peake immediately initiated.

The experiment tracked 240 veterans taking the drug Chantix to examine which forms of counseling were more beneficiary - smoking clinics or through a separate counselor. James Elliott, an Army infantryman who was wounded in Iraq, says the drug caused him to experience a mental breakdown and a showdown with police who used a Taser to subdue him in February.

Mr. Elliott said the VA didn't warn him about new FDA concerns that Chantix was linked to psychotic behavior and nearly 40 suicides until nearly a month after his disturbing incident occurred earlier this year.

The internal investigation confirmed that Mr. Elliott was not alone. It took medical professionals involved in the study anywhere from 16 to 134 days to notify participants taking Chantix about the new warnings.

RU-486

In addition, an experiment using 40 Gulf War veterans recruited from the Bronx Veterans Medical Research Foundation is testing the drug mifepristone, also known as RU-486, to treat chronic multisymptom illness. The drug was approved by the Food and Drug Administration to induce abortions by blocking progesterone that is needed to sustain pregnancies.

Diagnosis problem

Aimee Fitzgerald took her 74-year-old husband Joe to the VA hospital in the Bronx last year for diagnosis and treatment after he suddenly started losing motor skills. He was immediately admitted to the hospital, underwent some tests and was told that if he enrolled in a clinical study of Alzheimer's study he could be diagnosed quicker. When he declined, Mrs. Fitzgerald says her husband was immediately dismissed from the hospital without a diagnosis or treatment.
Less than a month later, Mr. Fitzgerald died of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, the human form of mad cow disease.
After a review of the Fitzgerald case this year, the VA denied that the study recruitment efforts had anything to do with Mr. Fitzgerald's dismissal from the VA hospital.
However, Mr. Peake apologized to the family in an Aug. 26 letter to the editor at The Times.

No consent for tests

The VA halted all new experiments involving human subjects at the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System in Little Rock this summer after an investigation by its inspector general.

Rampant violations in human experiments were uncovered, including missing consent forms, clandestine HIV testing and failure to report more than 100 deaths of veterans participating in various studies.

Entire consent forms were missing or signatures missing and research officials failed to obtain witness signatures in one study using veterans with dementia. Patients were tested for AIDS without their knowledge or permission.

In a review of several cancer studies involving 1,400 veterans, investigators randomly sampled the files of 105 patients and could only find 20 consent forms.

In West Virginia, several families of Iraq War veterans demanded a congressional investigation after their loved ones died at home in their sleep. All were taking medication for drugs described for post-traumatic stress disorder. click link above for the rest

VA mishaps shake Congress' confidence

VA mishaps shake Congress' confidence
Audrey Hudson (Contact)
Wednesday, September 24, 2008

A key congressional leader says he has no confidence in the Department of Veterans Affairs and would have pulled his own children out of the VA's human subject study that used a drug with dangerous side effects that is being prescribed to veterans with mental disorders.

"I don't have confidence in the leadership that allowed this to happen," said Rep. Bob Filner, California Democrat and chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, which oversees the VA.

A review released Friday of a smoking-cessation study on veterans suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) found that the VA was responsible for numerous "unacceptable failures" in ensuring safeguards for soldiers in the experiment.

The smoking-cessation study at one time included more than 200 veterans who took the drug Chantix, which was later found to have psychosis and suicidal behavior among its possible side effects.

The internal review was prompted by an investigation by The Washington Times and ABC News published in June, which found that the veterans were not notified in a timely manner about new warnings from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about the drug's side effects.

click post title for more

ANTHONY J. PRINCIPI DEFENDS HIMSELF

Anti-smoking drug study investigated
Audrey Hudson (Contact)
Sunday, July 20, 2008

Officials with the Department of Veterans Affairs are preparing to determine who was at fault for failing to quickly notify participants in a smoking-cessation study about the potentially dangerous side effects of a drug they were prescribed and whether the study will be ended.

Dr. Tom Puglisi, chief officer of the VA's Office of Research Oversight, says he has several concerns that veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were prescribed the smoking-cessation drug Chantix without receiving timely written information or warnings about its possible side effects, which can include psychosis and suicidal behavior.

Dr. Puglisi said he also is concerned that similar notification problems exist throughout the agency's human subject testing programs, particularly those that target participants with PTSD.

"The secretary has asked my office to look at this study in great detail, as well as all of the studies involving PTSD patients, and we will make very specific recommendations about how the system needs to be changed to make sure this doesn't happen again, and we will make specific recommendations relative to accountability of individuals who appeared not to have fulfilled their responsibilities," Dr. Puglisi said.
go here for more

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jul/20/
officials-investigating-anti-smoking-drug-study/

This is what Principi wrote

For the record
Washington Times - Washington,DC,USA
LETTER TO EDITOR: For the record

Sunday, July 20, 2008
Having spent more than 35 years of my professional life in public service, I must take issue with your July 9 Page One article "Principi prodded VA on Chantix."

As a combat-decorated Vietnam veteran, Republican staff director of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs (1984-88), deputy secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (1989-93), chairman of the Commission on Veterans Transition Assistance (1996-98) and secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs - I know of few people more committed to veterans and their health and welfare than I. Therefore, it is important that I set the record straight.

The VA first lifted the co-payment requirement for veterans participating in a smoking-cessation program in 2004. I stand by that decision to help veterans quit smoking. At that time, I had no direct or indirect contact with anyone at Pfizer. The drug Chantix had not been submitted to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval, and I knew nothing of its existence.

Upon leaving office in early 2005, I entertained several employment options in the private sector. I accepted a position with Pfizer, but my tenure lasted a matter of months. In March, 2005, President Bush asked me to return to public service as the chairman of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC).

I concluded my work on BRAC in the fall of 2005. Soon thereafter, I accepted the position as chairman of the board for a California-based company. My intention was to move West eventually. Again, Pfizer contacted me. I decided to rejoin the company in March 2006.

I first learned of Chantix after its FDA approval in May 2006. I had no knowledge of any smoking-cessation studies involving veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder until I read The Washington Times' article. I never lobbied or prodded VA on behalf of Pfizer.

For anyone to assert that any decision I made as a Cabinet secretary was designed to benefit my life after public service, or for anyone to suggest that I have used my public service for profit is not only unfair but untrue.

My decision to resign from a senior executive position with Pfizer after two months to return to public service as chairman of BRAC is evidence of my willingness to put public service above self.

If The Washington Times believes we, as a nation, need to further review the employment options available to former members of any administration, so be it. But the facts simply do not support The Washington Times using this former Cabinet secretary to support its case.

ANTHONY J. PRINCIPI

Easton, Md.

It's hard to believe that all of this went on while no one seemed to care about any of this. I did some checking to see what was known and when it was known other than what has already been posted on this blog. The first thing I discovered was a report from 1996. Not about this drug, but what was found by Pfizer looking at the brain and stress. Just one more time where researchers are researching what was already studied when you think of the reports that have come out over the last few years. This study was done by Pfizer in 1996.

Sep 16, 96
15:56 ET
Pfizer Scientists Discover Chemical Block For Brain's Response To Stress
Pfizer Scientists Discover Chemical Block For Brain's Response To Stress
Discovery holds potential for new generation of drugs for depression, anxiety
/ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 5 P.M. EST, TODAY/
/ADVANCE/ GROTON, Conn., Sept. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Scientists at Pfizer
Central Research have designed a molecule that blocks the cascade of events in
the brain that occur in response to stress. Described in this week's
Proceedings of The National Academy of Science, the discovery molecule can be
administered orally, and has been shown in preclinical experiments to have
potential for treating depression and anxiety.
The Pfizer compound arrests the action of a neurotransmitter,
corticotropin releasing factor (CRF), which scientists believe is an important
chemical messenger for transmitting the stress response in the brain.
Excessive levels of this chemical signal may ultimately produce a host of
central nervous system disorders such as depression, anxiety, anorexia and
post-traumatic stress disorder.
"This breakthrough Pfizer compound has implications as a revolutionary
tool for researchers," said George M. Milne, Jr., Ph.D., president of Pfizer
Central Research. "This first non-peptide CRF antagonist should offer an
opportunity, for the first time, to probe the important function of CRF in the
brain. The compound could ultimately emerge as a novel therapy for treating
depression, anxiety and other diseases triggered by increased CRF activity."
Dr. Milne emphasized that while this is a pathfinding scientific discovery, it
will be some years before it is determined whether it will yield a new drug
that is available to patients.
Research has shown that patients with stress-related conditions have a
high concentration of CRF in their cerebrospinal fluid and that CRF levels
decrease following treatment with antidepressant therapies. The challenge for
scientists seeking to block CRF's activity has been to discover a small
molecule that is both effective and can penetrate the blood-brain barrier, a
membrane filtering system that permits entry of some chemicals into the brain
while denying access to others.
Although there have been reports of compounds that successfully block the
CRF receptor--the site on the nerve cell where CRF binds--these compounds have
been large peptide molecules, incapable of crossing the blood-brain barrier.
These drugs could only be administered by direct injection to the brain, and
thus have no practical utility as a medicine.
The report published today describes key attributes of the Pfizer
molecule: Its potency (determined by its ability to bind to CRF receptors and
block CRF's activity at very low concentrations); its unique ability to
penetrate the blood-brain barrier; and its selectivity for the CRF receptor
(decreasing the chances of side effects that can result when numerous
receptors are blocked simultaneously). Finally, preclinical tests, according
to the study, show that the compound has strong anxiolytic and anti-depressant
activity.
Where previous blockers of CRF's effect, could not be developed into
practical medicines because they were peptides, the Pfizer compound is the
first CRF antagonist that is a small non-peptide molecule. "This is the first
non-peptide antagonist of CRF receptors," the authors wrote, "and possesses
clear pharmaceutical advantages over peptide antagonists."
Pfizer Central Research, with major worldwide research facilities in
Groton, Connecticut; Sandwich, England; Amboise, France; Nagoya, Japan; and
Terre Haute, Indiana, is the principal pharmaceuticals, and animal health
research and development arm of Pfizer. Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) is a research-
based health-care company with global operations. In 1995, the company
reported sales of over $10 billion and, in 1996, expects to invest
approximately $1.7 billion in research and development.
SOURCE Pfizer Central Research

This is when they announced Zoloft.

Dec 07, 99
13:48 ET
Pfizer Drug Zoloft(R) Receives FDA Approval For Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Pfizer Drug Zoloft(R) Receives FDA Approval For Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
NEW YPRNewswire/ -- Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) said today that
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its anti-depressant Zoloft(R)
(sertraline hydrochloride) for an indication of posttraumatic stress disorder
(PTSD).
A selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor discovered and developed by
Pfizer, Zoloft is the first medicine to receive a FDA approval for the
treatment of PTSD. Symptoms of PTSD may develop following any extreme
traumatic event in which there was threatened death or serious injury, and the
individual's response involved intense fear, helplessness or horror. Such
events may include physical and sexual abuse and natural disasters.
Approximately 50 percent of the general population are exposed to a
traumatic event during their lifetime. Ten to twenty percent of those develop
PTSD. The prevalence of PTSD is twice as high in women as in men. Symptoms
can include persistent intrusive thoughts of the event, flashbacks, overall
emotional numbness, or being easily startled.
"Patients suffering from PTSD experience significant distress or
impairment in normal functioning," said Dr. Joseph Feczko, Senior Vice
President, Pfizer Inc. "In clinical trials, Zoloft was shown to have
considerable impact on these symptoms, thus giving physicians a new treatment
option for this major medical need."
"Pfizer's commitment to innovative research and development is reflected
in the approval of Zoloft for the treatment of PTSD," said Karen Katen,
President, U.S. Pharmaceuticals. "In an effort to improve the quality of life
of those suffering from this debilitating illness, we intend to launch a
broad-based campaign to educate and increase awareness among health care
professionals and consumers that PTSD is a treatable medical condition."
Zoloft is currently indicated for major depression, panic disorder, and
obsessive-compulsive disorder. More than 100 million prescriptions for the
medicine have been written in the United States since its launch in 1992.
Zoloft is contraindicated until at least 14 days have passed since
discontinuing a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) and a MAOI is
contraindicated for at least 14 days after discontinuation of Zoloft. MAOI's
are usually used to treat depression and related conditions. A patient should
never take Zoloft while taking MAOI's. The most common side effects of Zoloft
include nausea, insomnia, diarrhea, ejaculation problems (mainly ejaculatory
delay) and somnolence. Full prescribing information is available upon
request.
Pfizer Inc is a research-based global pharmaceutical company that
discovers, develops, manufactures and markets innovative medicines for humans
and animals. The company reported revenues of more than $13.5 billion in 1998
and expects to spend about $2.8 billion on research and development this year.
In 1999, Pfizer celebrates its 150th anniversary.

Just goes to show we have not come very far at all when we think of the newer troops still suffering today when all this was known in 1996.

As for the connection between Principi, the VA and Pfizer, who knows where this will lead. As for now, I'm sick enough just thinking about all the wasted time topping all of this off.

Widow Sues Chantix Maker Over Husband's Suicide

Widow Sues Chantix Maker Over Husband's Suicide
July 10, 2008 - 11:56 AM
Category: FDA & Prescription Drugs
Tags: Chantix, , Suicide,
Posted by: Scott Kappes



Yesterday as the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs was holding a hearing on why veterans were being given the “suicide-inducing drug” Chantix, an Alabama attorney was busy filing the first product liability lawsuit against Chantix maker, Pfizer. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a Linda Collins, now a widow after her husband, David Collins, committed suicide while taking Chantix. In February, the FDA updated the label of the drug to warn patients that Chantix had been linked to serious nueropsychaitric events, suicidal thoughts, and suicide. The lawsuit claims that Pfizer failed to properly warn patients of the possible psychiatric side effects of Chantix.
click post title for more

Tough Questions for VA on Suicide-Linked Chantix

Tough Questions for VA on Suicide-Linked Chantix
VA Secretary To Appear Before Congress Tomorrow
By MADDY SAUER and VIC WALTER
July 8, 2008

The Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs will appear before Congress tomorrow to answer questions about why his administration continued to recruit veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan for studies of pharmaceutical drugs linked to suicide and other violent side-effects. The controversial tests were the subject of an ABC News/ Washington Times investigation last month.

In one of the human experiments involving the anti-smoking drug Chantix, VA doctors waited more than three months after a statement was issued by the Food and Drug Administration before warning veterans about the possible serious side-effects, including suicide and neuropsychiatric behavior.


In the meantime, a new report out in today's Washington Times says that doctors at the VA began raising red flags as early as last year about Chantix, prompting a quiet investigation last fall.
click post title for more
linked from ICasualties.org

VA $30 lab rats and Chantix

VA testing drugs on war veterans
Experiments raise ethical questions
Audrey Hudson (Contact)
Tuesday, June 17, 2008

The government is testing drugs with severe side effects like psychosis and suicidal behavior on hundreds of military veterans, using small cash payments to attract patients into medical experiments that often target distressed soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, a Washington Times/ABC News investigation has found.

In one such experiment involving the controversial anti-smoking drug Chantix, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) took three months to alert its patients about severe mental side effects. The warning did not arrive until after one of the veterans taking the drug had suffered a psychotic episode that ended in a near lethal confrontation with police.



ROD LAMKEY JR./THE WASHINGTON TIMES Veteran James Elliott arrives at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Washington for his scheduled substance-abuse class in April. Mr. Elliott, a chain smoker, served 15 months in Iraq as an Army sharpshooter and suffers post-traumatic stress disorder.


ROD LAMKEY JR./THE WASHINGTON TIMES Iraq war veteran James Elliott opted for a government clinical trial for a smoking-cessation drug for $30 a month, starting in November. Two weeks later, the FDA informed the VA of serious side effects.


ROD LAMKEY JR./THE WASHINGTON TIMES STILL SMOKING: Iraq war veteran James Elliott smokes on his porch in Silver Spring as he talks about his experiences in war and dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder. Mr. Elliott suffered a psychotic episode while taking the anti-smoking drug Chantix.

James Elliott, a decorated Army sharpshooter who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after serving 15 months in Iraq, was confused and psychotic when he was Tasered by police in February as he reached for a concealed handgun when officers responded to a 911 call at his Maryland home.


Mr. Elliott, a chain smoker, began taking Chantix last fall as part of a VA experiment that specifically targeted veterans with PTSD, opting to collect $30 a month for enrolling in the clinical trial because he needed cash as he returned to school. He soon began suffering hallucinations and suicidal thoughts, unaware that the new drug he was taking could have caused them.

Just two weeks after Mr. Elliott began taking Chantix in November, the VA learned from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that the drug was linked to a large number of hallucinations, suicide attempts and psychotic behavior. But the VA did not alert Mr. Elliott before his own episode in February.

In failing to do so, Mr. Elliott said, the VA treated him like a "disposable hero."

"You're a lab rat for $30 a month," Mr. Elliott said.

go here for more
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jun/17/va-testing-drugs-on-war-veterans/

Anti-addiction drugs linked to depression

updated 6:04 p.m. EDT, Wed April 23, 2008


Anti-addiction drugs linked to depression
Story Highlights
"Super pills" intended to curb addiction by blocking brain's pleasure centers

Research indicates drugs may block too much pleasure, risking depression, suicide

Expert: "The door is closing" on this approach to curbing addiction


CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- Two years ago, scientists had high hopes for new pills that would help people quit smoking, lose weight and maybe kick other tough addictions such as alcohol and cocaine.


The so-called "super pills" worked in a novel way, by blocking pleasure centers in the brain that provide the feel-good response from smoking or eating. Now it seems the drugs may block pleasure too well, possibly raising the risk of depression and suicide.

Margaret Bastian of suburban Rochester, New York, was among patients who reported problems with Chantix, a highly touted quit-smoking pill from Pfizer Inc. that has been linked to dozens of reports of suicides and hundreds of suicidal behaviors.

"I started to get severely depressed and just going down into that hole ... the one you can't crawl out of," said Bastian, whose doctor took her off Chantix after she swallowed too many sleeping pills and other medicines one night.

Side effects also plague two other drugs:

• Rimonabant, an obesity pill sold as Acomplia in Europe, was tied to higher rates of depression and a suicide in a study last month. The maker, Sanofi-Aventis SA, still hopes to win its approval in the United States.

• Taranabant, a similar pill in late-stage testing, led to higher rates of depression and other side effects in a study last month. Its maker, Merck & Co., stopped testing it at middle and high doses.

The makers of the new drugs insist they are safe, although perhaps not for everyone, such as people with a history of depression. Having to restrict the drugs' use would be a big setback because it would deprive the very people who need help the most, since addictions and depression often go hand-in-hand, doctors say.

go here for more
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/04/23/super.pills.ap/index.html