New Prozac Blues

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Adding to the concerns about antidepressant use, a Dutch report in the Archives of Internal Medicine highlighted another problem with the pills: abnormal bleeding.

Patients taking drugs that strongly inhibit reuptake of serotonin — a neurotransmitter that aids both mood and blood clotting — were at least twice as likely to be hospitalized for bleeding in the brain, uterus and other sites than patients taking weaker drugs. So-called SSRIs, including Prozac and Paxil, were among the strongest drugs.

The risk is small, however, and most serious for patients already at elevated risk for bleeding.