NCJ Number
213759
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 51 Issue: 2 Dated: March 2006 Pages: 407-410
Date Published
March 2006
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This paper reports on two cases of adverse health effects due to the abusive prescribing of psychostimulants.
Abstract
The authors advise that these two cases show the dangerousness of psychostimulants and suggest rules for their prescribing that will prevent their abuse. The therapeutic uses of psychostimulants are limited to the treatment of disorders such as obesity, narcolepsy, or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. In one case presented, a French woman was treated for a 3-kilogram weight gain by prescribing fenproporex for 5 years. Although she did not lose weight, she insisted on continuing its use because it improved her mood. She was given a monthly prescription for fluoxetine and lorazepam for 2 years and for fenproporex for 5 years. The patient gradually ceased all professional and then social activity. Mood swings intensified, characterized by euphoria followed by aggressive behavior and then despondency. Her doctor never suggested that she should attempt withdrawal from the drugs. When fenproporex was taken off the French market in 1999, the woman had a major withdrawal syndrome that included compulsive seeking of the drug, aggressive behavior, anxiety, irritability, nightmares, and insomnia, followed by severe depression. Several years after psychiatric treatment, she still has persistent depression with suicidal ideation, along with other adverse mental and physical conditions. In the second case, a woman who complained of sleep problems was prescribed modafinil, methylphenidate, clobazam, Iormetazepam, meprobamate, and aceprometazine. She was found dead in her home a few weeks after beginning this treatment regimen. The cause of death could not be determined with any certainty. 22 references