The success of Prozac in easing depression in children may come at the price of impaired bone growth, suggests a study in mice.Researchers say cellular mechanisms important to bone growth may shut down in the presence of the drug, hindering healthy skeletal development. Growing mice exposed to Prozac for even a few weeks averaged 9.4 percent less bone formation in their thighbones compared to unexposed mice, the researchers report. “This is a mouse study, however, and I wouldn’t take people off Prozac based on just this study,” stressed lead researcher Stuart Warden, an assistant professor of physical therapy at Indiana University School of Medicine. “Still, as a researcher, I would start to think about planning trials to address this in a clinical population."In a statement, representatives from Eli Lilly & Co., the makers of Prozac, said “the findings warrant consideration, and should be placed in the context of the established record of safety and efficacy of fluoxetine [Prozac] in humans."The study is published in the November issue of Endocrinology.
