Denver, CO

NEWS

BLOGHOUSE

BUSINESS

CAMPAIGN 2004

COLUMNISTS

FRONT PAGE

LOCAL NEWS

NATION/WORLD

September 11

Technology

War & Security

OBITUARIES

SPECIAL REPORTS

WEATHER

FEATURES

BOOKS

COLUMNISTS

ENTERTAINMENT

FOOD / DINING

COMICS

HEALTH

LIFESTYLES

MOVIES

TRAVEL

TV LISTINGS

OPINION

COLUMNISTS

EDITORIALS

LETTERS

PERSPECTIVE

KEEFE CARTOON

MESSAGE BOARDS

SPORTS

AVALANCHE / NHL

BRONCOS / NFL

COLLEGES

COLUMNISTS

NUGGETS / NBA

OLYMPICS

PREPS

RAPIDS / MLS

ROCKIES / MLB

SCORES

OTHER SPORTS

SERVICES

ARCHIVES

ABOUT US/HELP

CONTACT US

E-MAIL NEWS

SCORE

SUBSCRIBE

ADVERTISING

AUTOS

HOMES

JOBS

MARKETPLACE

MEMORIALS

NEWSPAPER
ADS

PERSONALS

PNN WEBSITES

WEDDINGS

YELLOW
PAGES

HOME

ETHICS POLICY

SEARCH

SITE SEARCH:

WEB
SEARCH:

EMAIL
ARTICLE   LINK
TO ARTICLE   PRINT
ARTICLE

Article Published: Sunday, September
12, 2004

Drug
taken by Columbine killer linked to increased mania

By Anne C.
Mulkern
Denver Post Staff Writer

Washington - Children and teenagers taking the
antidepressant Luvox - the drug taken by Columbine shooter Eric
Harris - experienced mania at four times the rate of adults, a study
submitted to drug regulators shows.

There is no way to know for sure how much the drug influenced
Harris psychologically or chemically. His medical records are under
court seal, and attorneys in the case are forbidden to discuss what
they know. The coroner has said Harris had Luvox in his system when
he died.

Advertisement

But new information coming out about the class of antidepressants
that includes Luvox renews the questions about Harris and the drug.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in March issued a warning that
people taking antidepressants have become violent and suicidal,
though the FDA said it had not established a direct connection
between the drug and the events. Canadian health authorities in June
forced makers of Luvox and eight similar antidepressants to add a
warning that there have been violent acts associated with the
drugs.

"It does become much more important and legitimate to ask" about
Columbine, said Harvard psychiatrist Joseph Glenmullen, who has
written about antidepressant-triggered violence.

A lawsuit filed against the maker of Luvox, Solvay
Pharmaceuticals, was dropped in 2003 after the company made a
$10,000 donation to charity.

"We believe that the product had absolutely nothing to do with
Mr. Harris' actions," Solvay spokeswoman Gabrielle Braswell said in
an interview. "You have to bear in mind that he was acting with
Dylan Klebold, who was not taking Luvox to my knowledge or any other
antidepressant at the time."

Dr. Peter R. Breggin, the psychiatrist who planned to testify in
the lawsuit, said he's positive Harris was suffering from
Luvox-induced mania. Another psychiatrist said it amounted to the
"Twinkie defense" to blame violence on antidepressants.

The year-long planning of the attack weighs against the
possibility that the antidepressant influenced Harris, most said,
though Glenmullen and others said it could have made him less
empathetic to others' pain. Glenmullen believes all of the new
antidepressants can trigger suicide in the first few weeks they're
taken, but that there can also be reactions after months or
more.

Luvox has not been actively marketed in the U.S. since 2002 but
is prescribed in its generic form, doctors said. It was approved by
the FDA for use in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder in 1997.
It had already been approved for adults.

RETURN
TO TOP

All contents Copyright 2004 The Denver Post or
other copyright holders. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed for any commercial
purpose.

Denver
Post Ethics Policy
Terms of use | Privacy
policy

Go
to Section
DenverPost.com A to
ZABOUT
US/HELPAFA Sex
AssaultsAIR
QUALITYAl
KnightAl
LewisAmy
LewisARCHIVESAVALANCHE /
NHLAvs
MailbagAvs
RosterAwardsBarsBetrayal in the
RanksBilingual
EdBill
HustedBill
WilliamsonBLOGHOUSEBook
BeatBOOKSBRONCOS /
NFLBroncos
MailbagBroncos
WallpaperBuried
MistakesBUSINESSBuzzworthyCalendarsCAMPAIGN
2004Charlie
MeyersChild
AbuseChris
DempseyChroniclesCindy
RodríguezCLASSIFIEDSCOLLEGESColo.
JournalColo.
JournalCOLO.
KIDSColumbineCOLUMNISTSCOLUMNISTSCOLUMNISTSCOLUMNISTSCOLUMNISTSColumnistsColumnistsColumnistsColumnistsCOMICSCOMMUNITYCONTACT USCrosswordCrypto
GraphCSAP
TestsCU
in CrisisCU
RegentsDani
NewsumDave BarryDavid
HarsanyiDavid
ThomasDavid
ThomasDiane
CarmanDick KreckDigital News
TeamDISCUSSIONDry WestE-MAIL
NEWSEd
QuillenEDITORIALSENTERTAINMENTErin
YoshimuraETHICS
POLICYExcerptsFashionFOOD /
DININGFootball
PreviewFred BrownFRONT
PAGEGames &
PuzzlesGarden /
GrowGil
AsakawaGreat
Scott!HealthHOMEInternshipsJim
SpencerJoanne
DavidsonJoanne
OstrowJohn
HendersonJohn
MooreJonBenetJulia
MartinezKEEFE
CARTOONKeith
AndersonKerri
SmithKobe
BryantKyle
MacMillanLatino
LandscapeLaura
WattLegislatureLETTERSLIFESTYLESLOCAL NEWSLocal
PoliticsLotteryLou from
LittletonMad CowMark
KiszlaMARKETPLACEMatt
MoseleyMEMORIALSMESSAGE
BOARDSMichael
BoothMim
SwartzMovie
TimesMovie
TrailersMOVIESMusicNATION/WORLDNational
PoliticsNEWSPAPER ADSNIENosy
NeighborNUGGETS /
NBANuggets
MailbagNuggets
RosterOBITUARIESOLYMPICSOPINIONOther
racesPain and
GloryPaper
TrailsPERSPECTIVEPoint &
CounterpointPostcardsPREPSQwestRecipesRecreationReggie
RiversRestaurantsReviewsRide The RockiesROCKIES /
MLBRockies
MailbagRonald
ReaganRTD
ContractSchool
GradesSCORESSmog ReportSnow SportsSpin
CycledSPORTSSt. Vrain
CrisisStatisticsStock
ChartsStock
QuotesStocksSunday
StyleSusan
Barnes-GeltSuzanne
BrownT-REXTechnologyTerry FreiThat TV
GuyThe
NationTheaterToday's
RecipeTop 100TRAFFICTRAVELTravel
NotesTV
ListingsU.S.
SenateUnited
AirlinesUSAWeekendWaiting for
WaterWall St.
JournalWalter
CronkiteWar &
SecurityWasting
DiseaseWEATHERWeek's
AthletesWest Nile
VirusWhy
Weight?Wine &
SpiritsWolfgang
PuckWoody
PaigeWorld/NationWrite for
us

RELATED

Sep. 12:

Risks
of Prozac revisited

OTHER NATION/WORLD STORIES

9/13/2004

- Out
of diapers, into the classroom

- Scales
of justice vary for petitioners

- NEW:
Fla. Panhandle girds for Ivan

- NEW:
Another rigged letter found

- LATEST
HEADLINES FROM THE WIRES

- NEW:
Son of Colo. lawyers on trial in killing

- Surge
in assault weapons expected

- Heart-starter
training lags

- Crime
stays at record low

- Health
items creep onto school menus

- Lawsuit
caps lose support at roll call

- Kenneth
Starr set to take reins

- Ohio
fire kills 10; arson is suspected

- Ivan
batters Cayman Islands

- Ivan
intensifies to Category 5

- Pope,
bishops discuss scandal

- Risks
of Prozac revisited

- Consumer
confidence slides

- Little-known
FDA labs push medical devices to their limits

- Indonesian
police link traces of explosives to 2 suspects

- Bush,
Democrats point fingers on Medicare costs

- Russians
say rebels divided over attack

- Chalabi
kin is in court to face murder inquiry

- Colorado
votes in Congress

- Jamaica
spared Ivan's worst

- Calif.
West Nile toll reaches 14

- NASA:
Genesis not a total loss

- Drought
hits Lake Powell power plant

- FDA,
drugmakers secrecy faulted

- D.C.
sniper victims settle gun lawsuit

- House
votes to block new overtime rules

- Lower
bail new twist in bizarre Texas case

- Genesis
crash probe shifts to battery

- Evacuation
ordered as Ivan nears

- NASA
to try to salvage data

- Indian
casino quashed

- Terror
readiness debated in Springs

- Bush
shifts on intelligence

- Muslims
condemn Russian massacre

- Antibiotic
increases cardiac-arrest risk

- Number
of Iraqi dead unknown

- Dress
codes swing back to less skin

- Disbelief,
then pain as success turns to disaster at the end

- Air
pollution harms teens, study says

- U.S.
fires on site used by Fallujah militants

- Mission
failures at Lockheed

- Ivan
kills nine in Grenada

- Bush
goal of halving deficit unlikely

- Bipartisan
bill pushes reforms

- Doctor:
Former president doing well

- Patience
wearing thin in Frances' wake

- Gun
industry loads up to sell

- Thousands
rally in Moscow

- Clinton's
case shows sneakiness of heart disease

- Record
7th typhoon strikes

- A
new fight on Medicare drug plan

- Footage
foreshadows fate

- Ally:
Bin Laden capture not close

- Questions
and answers about Clinton's health

- Clinton
surgery termed success

- Russia
seized families of rebels

- Another
hurricane heading toward Caribbean

- Frances
sloshes north

- Study
hails savings from chickenpox vaccinations

- Victims
buried as info emerges

- Text
of McGreevey's announcement

- Text
of Nichols' statement in court

- 9/11
attacks, minute by minute

- How
Senate voted on gay-marriage amendment

- Reagan's
letter announcing his illness

Sponsored Links

•
Diamonds
• Get
contractors estimates
• Car
Hire
•
Tenerife

• Home &
Auto Insurance Quotes
• MCSE
Training, Boot Camp
• NFL Football Tickets
•
Satellite TV

• Billiard
Cues Pool Tables
•
Las Vegas Real Estate
•
Promotional items
• Real estate
agents finder

• Rubber Stamps
• Auto Insurance
• Health & Diet Supplements
• Home
Mortgage Loans