Here’s some more depressing news about antidepressant drugs. Now, we’re learning that they cause osteoporosis and weak bones.
I’m talking about selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors or SSRIs or anti depressants. These are the most widely used antidepressants, and are one of the most commonly prescribed of all medications. Researchers have known about the increased risk of osteoporosis in people taking SSRIs for years. They have also known that SSRIs concentrate in bones even more than they do in the brain. What they didn’t know until recently is how they cause osteoporosis. Now they do. It has to do with osteoclasts and osteoblasts.
Bone strength is controlled by 2 types of cells called osteoclasts and osteoblasts. Osteoclasts tear down bone. Osteoblasts rebuild and strengthen bone. Both are important for bone strength, because it’s through this process of tearing down and rebuilding bone that strengthens bone. So, what does this have to do with SSRIs?
It’s because SSRIs work by interfering with the actions of the neurotransmitter (brain chemical) called serotonin. Recently, researchers discovered that both osteoclasts and osteoblasts have receptors for serotonin which means that seritonin has an affect on how th eosteoclasts and osteoblasts work. So, because the SSRIs are interfering with serotonin function, they are also interfering with bone metabolism.
This recent study found that when researchers grew osteoclasts and osteoblasts with SSRIs, they found out that the cells were inhibited by the drugs. Basically, they decreased the function of both cells. And if that’s not enough to give you the creeps, here’s what else they discovered.
The drug induced apoptosis in both osteoclasts and osteoblasts which is a fancy way of saying that these cells started dying. And what this means is that not only did the drugs shut down the bone-maintaining activity of the cells, they also caused them to die! “
The authors of one recent meta-study review on SSRIs not so humorously entitled, “SSRIs: Bad to the Bone?” had this to say about their findings: “Despite an overall favorable side-effect profile, our examination of 19 studies, one review, and one meta-analysis indicates that these unique antidepressants [SSRIs] … have negative effects on bone, particularly with regard to bone mineral density and fracture risk.”
SSRI drugs are dangerous to your health in all kinds of ways. Typical side effects include: drowsiness, flat emotional tone (Unable to feel much excitement about great things), suicidal tendencies, aggressive behavior, sexual dysfunction, dry mouth, headaches, and others. And now we can list one more – weak bones.
It’s pretty clear. If you want to live a long and healthy life, SSRIs are something you’ll want to avoid. And here’s the good news. There are all kinds of natural ways to treat depression that have nothing to do with drugs. In fact, depending on which study you look at, the natural treatments come out either equal in effect to the drugs, or in some cases, more effective than the drugs. But there is one caution.
SSRIs are addictive, and it can be dangerous to stop them without working with a doctor well versed in the natural treatment of depression.
Yours for better health,
Dr. Jack Belitz, DC
PS If you or someone you care about is taking an SSRI or is even considering one, please call 402-333-4848 for a consultation about the options you have that your medical doctor may not be aware of so you have all the information before y
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