Depression could lead to Brittle Bones, study proves
A new study was released on Monday by Israeli scientists, who said that depression could lead to brittle bones. The study also suggested anti-depressant drugs could be used to treat osteoporosis.
The scientists at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University said mice that were given drugs to induce behavior similar to human depression, suffered from a loss of mass in their bones, mainly their hips and vertebrae.
After being given anti-depressants, the bone density of the mice increased, along with their level of activity and social interaction.
“The new findings point for the first time to depression as an important element in causing bone mass loss and osteoporosis,” Hebrew University professor Raz Yirmiya, who took part in the study, said in a statement.
Depression activates the “sympathetic nervous system,” which responds to impending danger or stress, causing the release of a chemical compound called noradrenaline that harms bone-building cells, the study showed.
A study published earlier this month by the Forsyth Institute in Boston found that fluoxetine, used in the popular anti-depressant drug Prozac, also increased bone mass in mice.
Osteoporosis weakens bones and makes them more likely to fracture. It is treatable but affects millions and is most prevalent among postmenopausal women.
November 29th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
Please,please,PLEASE, Double-check the above against countless other studies which say exactly the opposite! I myself have been on Prozac (on and off) for 3yrs and have inexplicably developed severe joint pain, including hips and I am only 49! Below I give refs of alternative sources.
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Thursday » November 29 » 2007
Bone risk in drugs like Prozac
Antidepressants raise fracture odds in those over 50, study shows
JAN RAVENSBERGEN
The Gazette
Depressed Men and Women taking Prozac (and all other SSRI’s) must be screened regularly for osteoporosis. *July 1, 2007* Two separate studies from two respected institutions, focusing on older women and men, have found that Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs: Prozac, Paxil, Celexa, Lexapro, Luvox, Zoloft) are linked to decreased bone density in both. The paired studies were published in the June issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. “The five-year older women study indicated that women taking SSRIs lost twice as much bone density at the hip compared with women taking other antidepressants or none at all,” said Susan J. Diem, M.D., of the University of Minnesota here, and colleagues. (Eli Lilly involved in study!)