EDITOR'S PAGE CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING NEWS 1155—16th St., N.W.. Washington. DC 20036 (202) 872-4600 or (800) 227-5558 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Rudy M. Baum MANAGING EDITOR: Pamela S. Zurer ART DIRECTOR: Robin L. Braverman, Nathan Becker (Associate Art Director) Linda Mattingly (Staff Artist) SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Lois R. Ember NEWS EDITOR: William G. Schulz EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Michael Heylin CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Susan J. Ainsworth, Κ. Μ. Reese SENIOR ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER: Lisa Dimaio lekel ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT: Patricia Oates BUSINESS Michael McCoy. Assistant Managing Editor NORTHEAST: (732) 906-8300. Rick Mullin (Senior Editor). Marc S. Reisch (Senior Correspondent). William J. Storck (Senior Correspondent). Alexander H. Tullo (Associate Editor). Rachel Eskenazi (Administrative Assistant). HONG KONG: 852 2984 9072. Jean-François Tremblay (Bureau Head). LONDON: 44 20 8870 6884. Patricia L. Short (Senior Correspondent) GOVERNMENT & POLICY David J. Hanson. Assistant Managing Editor WASHINGTON: (202) 872-4495. Bette Hileman (Senior Editor). Cheryl Hogue (Senior Editor), Jeffrey W. Johnson (Senior Editor), Susan R. Morrissey (Associate Editor) SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY/EDUCATION Doron Dagani, Assistant Managing Editor WASHINGTON: (202) 872-4411. Stuart A. Borman (Senior Correspondent). Louisa W. Dalton (Assistant Editor). Bethany Halford (Assistant Editor). Celia M. Henry (Associate Editor). Stephen K. Ritter (Senior Editor). A. Maureen Rouhi (Senior Correspondent). Sophie L. Rovner (Senior Editor), Amanda T. Yarnell (Associate Editor). CHICAGO: (847) 679-1156. Mitch Jacoby (Senior Editor). WEST COAST: (510) 849-0575. Elizabeth K. Wilson (Senior Editor). LONDON: 44 1256 811052. Michael Freemantle (Senior Correspondent) ACS NEWS & SPECIAL FEATURES Linda Raber, Head Victoria M. Gilman (Editorial Assistant). Corinne A. Marasco (Associate Editor). Aalok Mehta (Assistant Editor) EDITING & PRODUCTION Robin M. Giroux, Assistant Managing Editor Melissa A. Braddock (Editorial Assistant), Janet S. Dodd (Senior Editor), Arlene Goldberg-Gist (Senior Editor). Deanna Miller (Associate Editor), Stephen M. Trzaska (Associate Editor), Linda Wang (Assistant Editor) C&EN ONLINE Melody Voith, Editor Luis A. Carrillo (Production Manager), Wes M. Lindamood (Production Associate), Rachel Sheremeta Pepling (Assistant Editor), Nick Wafle (Manager. Chemjobs) PRODUCTION & IMAGING Vincent L. Parker (Assistant Director) Krystal E. King (Senior Digital Production Associate) SALES & MARKETING Elise Swinehart. Manager ADVISORY BOARD Paul S. Anderson. Shenda M. Baker. Donna G. Blackmond. Ronald Breslow. Stephanie A. Burns, Cynthia J. Burrows. Alison Butler. Margaret A. Cavanaugh, Sibrina N. Collins. Terry Collins. Thomas M. Connelly Jr., Thomas E. D'Ambra, Nance K. Dicciani, Richard M. Gross, Rudolf Hanko, Nancy B. Jackson, Carl A. Jennings. Fran Keeth. Robert L. Lichter, Jonathan MacQuitty, Peter Nagler. George A. Olah, Lura J. Powell. Douglas J. Raber. Géraldine L. Richmond, Gregory H. Robinson, Michael E. Rogers, Jeremy Scudamore. Jay M. Short, Ian Shott. Jay S. Siegel, Sergey A. Vasnetsov, John T. Yates Published by the AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY Madeleine Jacobs, Executive Director Robert D. Bovenschulte. President. Publications Division EDITORIAL BOARD Theodore L. Brown (Chair). ACS Board of Directors Chair: James D. Burke, ACS President: Charles P. Casey, Ned D. Heindel, Peter C. Jurs, Eisa Reichmanis, Peter J. Stang Copyright 2004, American Chemical Society Canadian GST Reg. No. R127571347
The Darkness Of Depression
T
H I S WEEK'S COVER STORY ON DE-
pression vividly illustrates the centrality of chemistry to biomedicine today Chemistry is one of the tools being used to understand the molecular basis ofthis complex and dangerous disease. And chemistry of course, is the basis of efforts to develop treatments to alleviate the debilitating and life-threatening symptoms of depression. Senior Editor Sophie Rovner has tackled complex biomedical topics previously for C&EN, including major reports on the biochemical basis of violent behavior (C&EN, June 2,2003, page 33) and the causes of and potential treatments for Alzheimer's disease (C&EN, March 11,2002, page 45). "Each time I research one of these stories," Rovner says, "I'm awed by the marvelous complexity and delicately balanced interdependence ofthe biochemical systems within the human organism. And I become more and more convinced that we owe much of our personality to our biochemistry" Depression casts its pall widely, Rovner observes. More than 12 million women and 6 million men in the U.S. are affected by depression in any given year, according to the National Institute ofMental Health. Another 2.5 million suffer from bipolar disorder. As many as 20% of those with bipolar disorder who aren't treated commit suicide, according to N I M H . Rovner paints a picture of a bewilderingly complex condition. In fact, she writes, "the term 'depression' encompasses several different conditions with a range of causes. What unites them is an interaction between genetics and environmental factors such as stress and substance abuse." Researchers know that depression interferes with the balance of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, norepmephrine, and dopamine. And they have determined that the medications used to treat depression either increase the availability of such neurotransmitters or change the sensitivity of receptors for them. Pharmaceutical companies have taken major strides in the past 20 years in developing drugs that selectively modulate brain chemistry to alleviate depression. The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Prozac, in particular, have revolutionized the treatment of depres-
sion and offered hope to millions of people. And Rovner points to numerous other classes of compounds that have been developed that give physicians a broad set of tools to alleviate depression's symptoms. Use of SSRIs and a few other new medications for treating depression in children ο and adolescents was very g much in the news last week. | On Feb. 2, the Food & Drug Administration convened a panel of experts to review clin ical trials of drugs used to treat pediatric depression, specifi cally to determine whether the drugs caused an increase in suicidal thoughts or behav ior or other forms ofviolence. FDA's action caps several months of building anxiety about prescrib ing SSRIs to children. On Oct. 27, 2003, FDAreleased apublic health advisory alert ing health professionals to its concern over eight drugs. Also last year, British regulators recommended that doctors stop prescrib ing six SSRIs to children and adolescents. The FDA panel that met last week rec ommended that the agency issue stronger warnings about the risks of prescribing SSRIs to children while continuing to eval uate the clinical data developed by drug companies on the use of the drugs to treat pediatric depression. That's probably pru dent. But this is an extraordinarily com plex issue. Childhood and adolescent de pression is a very real phenomenon, and SSRIs may be useful for treating it. Depression itself often leads to suicidal thoughts and behavior. Drugs that allevi ate depression can, conceivably, combat suicide among some individuals and in crease the risk of suicide among others. W h a t is needed to sort out the con flicting claims are data and dispassionate analysis, which is the course FDA is pur suing. If the data from clinical trials con ducted by drug companies are inconclu sive, a major clinical trial conducted under N I H auspices should be carried out. Patience is a hard course to advocate when the subject is as gut-wrenching as childhood suicide, but it is the only course available to us. Thanks for reading.
Editor-in-chief
Views expressed on this page are those of the author and not necessarily those of ACS. HTTP://WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG
C&EN / FEBRUARY
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