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Bridget M. Kuehn

JAMA. 2008;299(10):1121-1122.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Patients taking the smoking cessation drug varenicline or antiepileptic drugs may be at risk of developing severe neuropsychiatric symptoms, according to recent alerts from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

According to health authorities, drugs used to aid smoking cessation or to treat conditions such as epilepsy may have a negative side, in the form of an increased risk of suicidality.

The alerts stem from recent agency reviews of postmarketing safety data on these drugs. Results from the agency's ongoing reviews indicate there may be an increased risk of suicidal thoughts or behaviors among patients taking either varenicline or medications used to treat epilepsy. In addition, the agency said there may be a potential exacerbation or reemergence of psychiatric illness among patients taking the smoking cessation drug.

ONGOING REVIEW

The FDA alerted the public in November that it had received reports of adverse psychiatric events in patients taking . . . [Full Text of this Article]