One popular asthma drug has been linked to neuropsychiatric side effects
such as depression, increased aggression, nightmares and headaches, according
to a new review by Dutch researchers. The agent belongs to a class of drugs
called selective leukotriene receptor antagonists .
In the course of the work, the authors concluded that it is worth giving advice
to physicians so that they are alerted to the signs and symptoms of allergic
granulomatous angiosis (a rare drug-related complication) and severe
neuropsychiatric symptoms. It is up to the doctor whether to prescribe the
drug, but the researchers believe that children with asthma should not stop
taking the drug. Ultimately, asthma can be a life-threatening condition in
children, so it is important to continue taking life-saving medications, but
these risks should be monitored and it is very important that doctors warn
parents of possible side effects before their children start taking these
medicines.
Since 2009, the US Food and Drug Administration has required a warning that
such drugs are associated with neuropsychiatric side effects such as
aggression, anxiety, sleep disturbances and hallucinations, depression and
insomnia. Suicidal ideation and behavior (including suicide) and tremors are
also possible side effects of taking it. The current study used two databases
to find out how common these types of side effects are in children and adults.
One of these was the Netherlands Pharmacovigilance Centre , which reported over
three hundred side effects after taking the drug. The second, a global database
of more than 120 countries, contained almost 18,000 reports of adverse effects
of asthma medication.
The chances of depression were almost seven times higher in children and adults
who took the drug. Researchers have found that children are thirty times more
likely to engage in aggressive behavior. The likelihood of suicidal thoughts
increased twenty-fold, and the chances of nightmares were more than twenty-two
times higher in adults and children who took the medicine, especially in
children who are prone to nightmares. The risk of headaches was doubled. The
authors of the study acknowledge that it is difficult to pinpoint a causal
relationship. For example, having asthma is associated with a higher risk of
depression, but is it an effect of illness or treatment? An exact
pathophysiological explanation for the increased risk of neuropsychiatric
problems in children and adults treated with the drug has not yet been found.