NEWS: The Age - "Anti-depressant drug killer jailed"

Interesting read..

Anti-depressant drug killer jailed
A 76-year-old man who strangled his wife of 50 years after taking the anti-depressant drug Zoloft today received a maximum three-year sentence.

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Read the full article here.

Does this mean I can plead insanity after beating somebody to death, because I had a cup of coffee beforehand?
Excellent legal work, although I question the science...
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The woods are dark and deep, and you have miles to go before you sleep...

It has come to light that SSRI's like Zoloft can induce akathisia, which is an intense agitation, that may induce violent behaviour. I have to wonder about this case though - they said the guy took 5 times is prescribed dose that night- why?
There have been a number of court cases in the USA where people with no history of violence have committed suicide or homicide whilst on an SSRI. It appears that Eli Lilly, the company that developed Prozac (the first SSRI) had evidence of suicidal ideation occurring while the drug was still in testing, but took steps to avoid revealing this. Which is pretty dodgy, because if patients and families were warned that this could occur, they could seek help for it (using benzodiazepines can assist akathisia). An article in the Age Good Weekend 18/12/99 titled 'To Good to be True' talked about this in great length.
SSRI' s are frequently prescribed by GP's with little monitoring of the patient. Also, as they are seen as safe they are prescribed much more readily than the older anti-depressants, with more troublesome side-effects, ever were. Having said that, plenty of people take these drugs safely and effectively. But people should be given all the info.
I could go on about this all night, but I won't...

Hmmn... However the rate of isolated violence among some categories of depression patients without any drug prescription far outwheighs that of those on treatment using SSRI's. 5 times the dose? I'm guessing he got frustrated that it was not immediately working, increased his dosage under the misguided notion that more would help. When this didn't work, he could have lashed out.
But all this is conjecture... It seems unusual however, what physiological reason could there be for losing it on a serotonin reuptake inhibitor?
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The woods are dark and deep, and you have miles to go before you sleep...

The cause was plainly obvious... she just wouldn't listen.

Oh, and you listen don't BT!!! YEAH YOU LISTEN ALL THE TIME! DAMN YOU! I AM GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD!
Damn, too much prozac. Shit I have to calm down. Perhaps she didn't listen because I don't listen to what she has to say, so I get paranoid that she does not know what I am talking about. But how can I know if she knows when I don't let myself know!
Ay, the intellectual paradox of an infinite universe!