This was an interesting case that just got completed in court. A child murdered his grandparents and claimed Zoloft made him do it. In a sense, this is a tough case to decide. SSRI antidepressants have been notorious for causing irritability and akathisia in children, sometimes so severe, it can drive them to commit suicide or acts like this one. I've been on Zoloft in the past as a prevntative med for chronic migraine headaches, and I can testify to the fact that it made me extremely irritable. I had to get off of the stuff.

But, you can also look at this from another perspective. Was the child simply using Zoloft as an excuse for his actions.

I think both sides could be argued. I wonder how many in the jury had actually taken an SSRI and experienced these side effects. Probably none of them.

As a doctor, I'll be very cautious in prescribing these drugs to anyone.

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"Boy, 15, guilty of murder in Zoloft case

By BRUCE SMITH

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) -- A 15-year-old boy who claimed the antidepressant Zoloft drove him to kill his grandparents was found guilty Tuesday of murder.

Christopher Pittman hung his head as the verdict was read after about six hours of deliberations. He faces 30 years to life in prison at sentencing Tuesday afternoon.

The trial was the first case involving a youngster who says an antidepressant caused him to kill, Pittman's lawyer said. It came at a time of heightened scrutiny over the use of antidepressants among children.

Defense attorneys had urged the jury to send a message to the nation by blaming Zoloft for the killings. They said the negative effects of Zoloft are more pronounced in youngsters, and the drug affected Pittman so he did not know right from wrong.

"We do not convict children for murder when they have been ambushed by chemicals that destroy their ability to reason," attorney Paul Waldner said.

But prosecutors called the Zoloft defense a smoke screen, saying the then-12-year-old Pittman knew exactly what he was doing three years ago when he shot his grandparents, torched their house and then drove off in their car.

Prosecutor Barney Giese said the real motivation for the crime was the boy's anger at his grandparents for disciplining him for choking a younger student on a school bus. And he reminded jurors how the boy carried out the killings - shooting his grandfather in the mouth and his grandmother in her head while both lay sleeping.

"I don't care how old he is. That is as malicious a killing - a murder - as you are ever going to find," the prosecutor said. He pointed to Pittman's statement to police in which he said his grandparents "deserved it."

Pittman was charged as an adult in the November 2001 murders of Joe Pittman, 66, and his wife Joy, 62.

Zoloft is the most widely prescribed antidepressant in the United States, with 32.7 million prescriptions written in 2003. Last October, the Food and Drug Administration ordered Zoloft and other antidepressants to carry "black box" warnings - the government's strongest warning short of a ban - about an increased risk of suicidal behavior in children."

It really depends on what South Carolina's test for the insanity plea is. It varies greatly from state to state.

Personally, I don't think that these drugs can take away your free will. I don't see how he couldn't know that he was doing something wrong. For me, given the facts that I know, the toughest question would have been whether or not to try the kid as an adult.

Seriously, Zoloft can greatly increase irritability in children and some adults. I experienced it some when I was on the drug. It really made me irritable and down right hateful to my parents. Did I mean to act this way? Of course not. It was the drug that changed my mood. Was I concious of the way I was acting? Not really....the drug had completely control of me. It even made me feel somewhat suicidal. I'd never felt that way before, ever! I'd never been depressed. It was a scary feeling.

It actually kind of scared me, considering all I was expecting it to do was relieve my migraine headaches.

I think these drugs have some serious problems that the FDA needs to address more. That's why they've been banned for minors in Europe.

Seriously, Zoloft can greatly increase irritability in children and some adults. I experienced it some when I was on the drug. It really made me irritable and down right hateful to my parents. Did I mean to act this way? Of course not. It was the drug that changed my mood. Was I concious of the way I was acting? Not really....the drug had completely control of me. It even made me feel somewhat suicidal. I'd never felt that was before, ever! I'd never been depressed.

It actually kind of scared me, considering all I was expecting it to do was relieve my migraine headaches.

I think these drugs have some serious problems that the FDA needs to address more. That's why they've been banned for minors in Europe.

I know plenty of people that have been irritable and depressed and not killed someone.

Saying mean things to your parents and killing them are two distinctly different acts. Usually, the test of adulthood is whether or not the kid was developmentally far enough along that he understood what killing meant and things of that nature. I would have a hard time aquitting this kid on the Zoloft defense alone.

I'm developmentally advanced and I understand what murder is, yet Zoloft still made me feel extremely irritable and compulsive. It's just the drug, and there are serious problems with it that drug companies and the FDA don't want to admit to.

I think you'd have to take Zoloft and have the side effects to fully understand what I'm talking about.

It's actually a biological side effect called akathisia. It's caused by serotonin's negative feedback on dopamine. This increase in irritability can be so significant in suceptible individuals that it can very well lead to compusive acts like murder and suicide in certain individuals.

Can this be blamed completely on the drug? Well, that's debateable, but just looking at the biological effects of the drug, I wouldn't dismiss it.

Zoloft and other SSRI's are weird drugs. In a select few people, they can cause bizarre behavior, that's not really under the patient's concious behavior.

I agree. When I was a foster parent in California, we had a 6 year old boy that his psycho gave him a perscription for Zoloft because he thought that he was depressed. When we actually took him off it, the boy was acting normal. I just can't comprehend anyone needing this stuff when they're 6 years old.

I agree. When I was a foster parent in California, we had a 6 year old boy that his psycho gave him a perscription for Zoloft because he thought that he was depressed. When we actually took him off it, the boy was acting normal. I just can't comprehend anyone needing this stuff when they're 6 years old.

Our kids today are overmedicated. Too many doctors are too quick to medicate kids instead of prescribing behavior modification therapies. I was unfortunately at the receiving end of a Ritalin prescription for much of my youth. It's something I really regret.

I dont know much about Zoloft, or any prescription drugs for that matter. But, heres a question. Could prescription medicine, such as Zoloft, really cause people to kill others? If so, why is it on the market or being prescribed to people, or children for that matter? Honestly, I can not keep up with all these drugs or medications that are out there nowadays. There seems to be a commercial out there every 5 mins about a new pill or something that can help this or that. In my opinion that I have been saying for God knows how long, I really think that People are just trying to find an excuse. They cant be responsible for their own actions, because there is always something to blame it on.

I dont know much about Zoloft, or any prescription drugs for that matter. But, heres a question. Could prescription medicine, such as Zoloft, really cause people to kill others? If so, why is it on the market or being prescribed to people, or children for that matter? Honestly, I can not keep up with all these drugs or medications that are out there nowadays. There seems to be a commercial out there every 5 mins about a new pill or something that can help this or that. In my opinion that I have been saying for God knows how long, I really think that People are just trying to find an excuse. They cant be responsible for their own actions, because there is always something to blame it on.

Like Patrick, I was on Zoloft, but for a very short time. If you have never been on one of these types of drugs, then it is hard to understand where we are coming from. Zoloft also made me irritable and withdrawn from other people. It never made me suicidal, but there were days that I wasn't sure if I was coming or going. I was on it for 2 months, and after that, I decided that Zoloft wasn't for me.

I think the only reason they don't pull it from the shelf is because Zoloft does help control depression in many people. Just like any medication, it depends on your body. Something that may work great for Patrick, may not work for me at all, even if we had the same symptoms. In many cases, the doctor will put you on the medication, not knowing exactly how it will affect you. After a while, if it doesn't work, then you try another medication. Of course, if the medication doesn't work, then you have to go a few months feeling like crap.

As far as some of these other drugs they advertise on TV? Many of the side affects mentioned with some of these, would cause me to NOT want to take the medication. This medication will cure impotence, however, you have a risk of stroke, heart attack, kidney failure, lung disease, etc.....It's not for me.

I dont know much about Zoloft, or any prescription drugs for that matter. But, heres a question. Could prescription medicine, such as Zoloft, really cause people to kill others? If so, why is it on the market or being prescribed to people, or children for that matter? Honestly, I can not keep up with all these drugs or medications that are out there nowadays. There seems to be a commercial out there every 5 mins about a new pill or something that can help this or that. In my opinion that I have been saying for God knows how long, I really think that People are just trying to find an excuse. They cant be responsible for their own actions, because there is always something to blame it on.

Actually in Europe every SSRI antidepressant except Prozac (Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa, Lexapro, Luvox) has been banned in childrne under 18. The FDA now has placed a "Black Box" warning on every SSRI explaining the risk.

The reason it hasn't been pulled off the shelf completely in the US? Well, it only causes akathisia in a select few patients....maybe 5-10%. And even at that, the level of akathisia and the irritability and compulsiveness it causes varies greatly. It also varies depending on the drug. For example, when I was on Paxil, strangely, it made me extremely irritable and compulsive, and for some weird reason, suicidal. I had never ever experienced such a feeling in my entire life. And it wasn't really suicidal like most would think. It wasn't a feeling of deep depression where you just wanted to end it all to put yourself out of your misery. Instead, it was more of an extreme irritability with yourself and a compulsiveness. I can't explain it. It was a weird feeling. I had the problem somewhat on Zoloft. Celexa and Lexapro didn't cause the problem though.

Eventually I was taken off all of them, because none of them helped my migraines.

Anyways, they don't ban them completely, because they do help the majority of people that take them. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of alternatives. Older Tricyclic Antidepressants aren't very pleasant to take. They come with a lot of side effects. So, most doctors and patients would rather take the risk with SSRI's.

Eli Lilly recently tested it's new antidepressant Cymbalta before it was released on the market. One of the control subjects was a normal non-depressed college female who was taking part in a drug study, as a control subject, to earn a little extra money. She was given the experimental drug. She had never experienced a bout of depression. Soon after taking the drug, she was found in her apartment dead. She had hung herself.

Obviously, it was the drug. She never had felt this way in prior to taking the drug.

The adverse effects of these drugs are real. If doctors are prescribing them, they just need to be careful and keep a close eye on their patients.