The Side Effects of Tamiflu
Influenza is a highly contagious viral infection of the throat, nose, and lungs. Influenza often occurs in winter and it tortures many people. However, even if we get influenza, there are many treatments, and many of us recover from influenza in a week. Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) is one of the best antiviral treatments and it is used in many countries. Tamiflu is a neuraminidase inhibitor that is a newer class of antiviral drug and can both prevent and treat influenza. It is usually very effective, but in Japan, it was reported that the patients treated with Tamiflu had abnormal behaviors such as panic disorder and depression, and these behaviors led the patients to commit suicide. Amantadine, rimatadine, and zanamivir are also antiviral medications against influenza. They have some side effects like depression, but the side effects are quite rare and not more serious than those of Tamiflu. Since the reports, drug manufacturer Roche and US regulators are warning that Tamiflu may increase serious mental problems of influenza patients.
According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 95 reports from 103 reports of neuropsychiatric adverse events associated with Tamiflu use came from Japan between August 29, 2005 and July 6, 2006. Surprisingly, about two thirds of the reports were children and youth under 17 years old. One adverse event involved a youth who apparently fell to his death from the balcony of his house. Most of the events (60 of 103) were described as delirium with disturbed behavior. Other problems include delusions, convulsions, and loss of consciousness.
Most of the problems occurred within a day after the patients took Tamiflu, and many of the patients recovered quickly after they stopped taking Tamiflu. However, the FDA says that whether the drug contributes to the adverse events is not known. Influenza by itself can lead to neuropsychiatric disorders, but many of the reported problems were not typical of those associated with influenza alone. In addition, the genetic characteristics common in Japan are given as a reason, but there is not enough evidence to say that is connected. Therefore, it is still unclear what causes these neuropsychiatric events.
Tamiflu was approved to use as a treatment of influenza a few years ago in the United States, and the serious problems about Tamiflu have not been reported here yet. On the other hand, Japan uses the most Tamiflu in the world, and all the reported deaths that could be related to Tamiflu were from Japan. If Tamiflu use in the United States increases, the number of adverse events will increase as well. In the latest report, 12 deaths in Japanese children who had been taking Tamiflu were not related to the drug. These causes are considered as part of a wave of influenza related to encephalopathy. These problems about Tamiflu appeared recently, and there is not enough information to explain them. So further study will make these problems more clear. We still do not know what causes these mental problems, but we should not depend on drugs too much, and we should take care of ourselves in daily life.
posted by tsaori
posted by PWH @ 12:17 AM
9 comments
9 Comments:
It is kind of scary that by taking something you feel is going to help cure influenza, acutally has adverse affects. I feel that the FDA should deeply look into this problem, because no one should have to experience the horrible side effects from taking Tamiflu. Hopefully the problem will be discovered and no more individuals will experience these adverese affects. I felt this was an extremely interesting article, because it was something I never heard of before
I think that your blog brought up some interesting ideas. I was not well aware of the drug, Tamiflu, prior to reading this. You were able to show that while this drug can be good and useful there may also be consequences. I think that more studies need to be done in order to concretely say that Tamiflu increases the odds of suicidal behavior in kids. It seems that there is a definite connection though.
This is a very interesting yet perplexing topic. Why do these cases of neuropsychosis occur at a greater percentage in Japanese population? You mentioned something that the genetic characteristics may have an effect, but is there enough genetic difference between Japanese people and the rest of the world's population? Also, are there any other antiviral medications either being produced or researched which can be used in place of Tamiflu?
mccannc6
This was a very interesting article. It is very troubling how a known-brand can cause side-effects such as panic attacks and depression. Additionally, it is troubling that there are so many reported cases especially involving children. Are there any warning signs on the Tamiflu package about children using the product? Also, are there any other symptoms that potentially could be more life threatening in adults? I think the company that makes Tamiflu needs to fix the problem with the product and of course notify the public that their health is potentially at risk. A lot of people take the product like the writer stated, people all over the world, therefore the public needs to know before an epidemic breaks out. There has already been 12 deaths of Japanese children when is it going to be too late.
wow! this is a rather interesting topic. the whole idea of a medicine used to cure the flu that can actually cause more consequential side effects...ie death. It makes me wonder if taking tamiflu is worth the risk.
i think you did a great job putting this scietific study on the table. i was just wondering, you mentioned how it was not used as much in the US, are there any statistics of tamiflu in the US? how availiable is it in the US? how many americans have been treated with it? has anyone died in the US as a result? These are just a couple questions to consider to bring the crisis closer to home, if the resources are available.
It seems as if many of our "miracle" drugs are later determined to cause significant side effects after the drugs have been approved for general use. Hopefully the FDA will not hesitate to take these initial observations into serious consideration and organize a larger study. It will be interesting to see how the results of a similar study conducted in the US would compare with those from Japan. If the trends established in this article are observed in a US study Roche should review how it tests its products in the future. Perhaps the drug testing requirements should be strengthened to help prevent incidents like this from occurring in the future.
smithda6
I found this blog really interesting. I thought it was weird that a drug that is supposed to help with the flu can cause more harm than good. I want to find out more about the side affects from this drug. This was a really unique and informative topic. I was also wondering what a neuraminidase inhibitor is and does?
-lornell6
This is really interesting and a big issue that I think a lot of people do not realize the effects of some drugs that are used. Influenza is a major health problem and affects many people. It is contagious and it usually takes a while to overcome with medication. It is important to understand the risks with medications and although I personally have never heard of this drug mentioned, I think the US should help out Japan in any way to avoid deaths and higher rates of illness. Great thoughts and definitely pursue research in this.
Very interesting post. I wonder if these side effects were observed during the time the FDA tested the drug and if these results may have also been found in any other countries other than Japan or the US. I like that you have mentioned that there is possibility of genetic differences being a factor in the reaction, but is it possible that an external factor, such as something in the Japenese diet, can react badly with the drug?
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