Doctors' group says antidepressants safe for teens

A new report from the American Medical Association's Council on Scientific Affairs (CSA) suggests that antidepressants - including so-called SSSRIs such as Prozac - are appropriate therapies for the treatment of depression in adolescents.

The CSA report, which was discussed at an AMA reference committee hearing Sunday, was immediately endorsed by delegates representing the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

"We believe this is a fair and balanced report," said Dr. Melvyn Sterling, clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, Irvine, and chairman of the council.

Sterling said the council report recommends that SSRIs remain available for use in both children and adolescents and states that current clinical evidence "indicates that (Prozac) is an effective SSRI in children and adolescents with major depressive disorder."

Antidepressants, especially SSRIs, have come under increased scrutiny by the Food and Drug Administration and Congress amid reports of increased suicides among teenager treated with the drugs.

The AMA will begin voting on this issue and many others later this week.