FDA adds more warnings to antidepressant's label
Celexa dosing should not exceed 40 mg a day, agency says.
(HealthDay) -- In a follow-up to a warning that high doses of the popular antidepressant Celexa can cause potentially fatal abnormal heart rhythms, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued new dosing and use recommendations.
Last August, the FDA said doses of Celexa (citalopram hydrobromide) greater than 40 milligrams a day can cause changes in the electrical activity of the heart, which can lead to abnormal heart rhythms, including a potentially deadly arrhythmia known as Torsade de Pointes.
Patients at high risk include those with preexisting heart conditions (including congestive heart failure) and those prone to low levels of potassium and magnesium in the blood, the FDA said.
At the time, the drug label was revised to include the new dosage limit as well as information about the potential for abnormal heart electrical activity and rhythms.
The latest recommendations note that Celexa in any dose should not be given to patients with certain conditions due to the risk of suffering these heart problems. However, it may be important for some patients to take Celexa, so the label has been changed to describe the particular cautions required when giving the drug to these patients.
Here are the latest FDA recommendations:
- Celexa should not be used at doses greater than 40 milligrams (mg).
- Celexa is not recommended for use in patients with congenital long QT syndrome, bradycardia, hypokalemia, hypomagnesemia, recent heart attack, or uncompensated heart failure.
- Use of the Celexa is also not recommended in patients who are taking other drugs that prolong the QT interval.
- The maximum recommended dose of Celexa is 20 mg per day for patients with liver impairment, patients who are older than 60, patients who are CYP 2C19 poor metabolizers, or patients who are also taking cimetidine (Tagamet) or another CYP 2C19 inhibitor. All of these factors lead to increased blood levels of Celexa, increasing the risk of QT interval prolongation and Torsade de Pointes, the FDA said.
More information: The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about antidepressants.
Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
-
FDA warns of heart risks with high doses of Celexa
Aug 24, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
FDA announces new limits on high-dose simvastatin (Zocor)
Jun 09, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Fever may trigger heart failure in patients with the genetic disease LQT-2
Jun 12, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Hospitals should be aware of rare, life-threatening heart rhythm
Feb 08, 2010 |
not rated yet |
0
-
FDA cites higher death risk in Sanofi drug study
Jul 22, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Motion perception revisited: High Phi effect challenges established motion perception assumptions
Apr 23, 2013 |
3 / 5 (2) |
2
-
Anything you can do I can do better: Neuromolecular foundations of the superiority illusion (Update)
Apr 02, 2013 |
4.5 / 5 (11) |
5
-
The visual system as economist: Neural resource allocation in visual adaptation
Mar 30, 2013 |
5 / 5 (2) |
9
-
Separate lives: Neuronal and organismal lifespans decoupled
Mar 27, 2013 |
4.9 / 5 (8) |
0
-
Sizing things up: The evolutionary neurobiology of scale invariance
Feb 28, 2013 |
4.8 / 5 (10) |
14
-
Why is zone 1 in liver more prone to ischemic injury?
May 23, 2013
-
How can there be villous adenoma in colon, if there are no villi there
May 22, 2013
-
How can there be a term called "intestinal metaplasia" of stomach
May 21, 2013
-
Pressure-volume curve: Elastic Recoil Pressure don't make sense
May 18, 2013
-
If you became brain-dead, would you want them to pull the plug?
May 17, 2013
-
MRI bill question
May 15, 2013
- More from Physics Forums - Medical Sciences
More news stories
Feds fight morning-after pill age ruling in NY
(AP)—Department of Justice lawyers have again asked a federal appeals court in New York to delay lifting age restrictions and prescription requirements on an emergency contraceptive popularly known as the morning-after ...
Medications
2 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
Merck ends development of Parkinson's disease drug
(AP)—Merck & Co. says it is ending development of an experimental Parkinson's disease drug because the drug wasn't working.
Medications
May 23, 2013 |
1 / 5 (1) |
0
J&J expects 10-plus new drug applications by 2017
(AP)—Johnson & Johnson is developing what could eventually be game-changing treatments for depression and pain, and it's aiming to apply for approval of more than 10 new medicines by 2017, executives said Thursday during ...
Medications
May 23, 2013 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
Experts favor US approval of Merck sleeping pill (Update)
An independent panel of experts on Wednesday recommended US approval of a new Merck sleeping pill called suvorexant, but expressed concerns over the highest dosage and risks of drowsy daytime driving.
Medications
May 22, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
Glaxo, US partnering to develop new antibiotics
GlaxoSmithKline PLC says it's starting an unusual collaboration with the U.S. government to develop several antibiotics for both bioterrorism threats and bacterial infections resistant to current medicines.
Medications
May 22, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
First drug to improve heart failure mortality in over a decade
Coenzyme Q10 decreases all cause mortality by half, according to the results of a multicentre randomised double blind trial presented today at Heart Failure 2013 congress. It is the first drug to improve heart failure mortality ...
Heart failure accelerates male 'menopause'
Heart failure accelerates the aging process and brings on early andropausal syndrome (AS), according to research presented today at the Heart Failure Congress 2013. AS, also referred to as male 'menopause', was four times ...
Engineered cytomegalovirus protects monkeys from HIV equivalent
(Medical Xpress)—A new study by researchers in the US has shown that an ancient virus can be modified to help in the fight against the simian immunodeficiency virus SIV, which is the equivalent in monkeys ...
Death highest in heart failure patients admitted in January, on Friday, and overnight
Mortality and length of stay are highest in heart failure patients admitted in January, on Friday, and overnight, according to research presented today at the Heart Failure Congress 2013. The analysis of nearly 1 million ...
Hormone levels may provide key to understanding psychological disorders in women
Women at a particular stage in their monthly menstrual cycle may be more vulnerable to some of the psychological side-effects associated with stressful experiences, according to a study from UCL.
Researchers identify first drug targets in childhood genetic tumor disorder
Two mutations central to the development of infantile myofibromatosis (IM)—a disorder characterized by multiple tumors involving the skin, bone, and soft tissue—may provide new therapeutic targets, according to researchers ...