The University of Utah recently conducted a unique test that may help to identify harmful side effects caused by pharmaceutical antidepressants. The experiment, that subjected common house mice to an extreme competition environment, determined that a dosage of antidepressants, proportional to the amount generally given to pregnant adult women, was toxic to the developing fetuses in pregnant mice.

Describing the experiment University of Utah biologist Shannon M. Gaukler said ‘we are doing it exactly the way we need to determine if it presents a risk of harm to a developing fetus.’

She explains that effects are being seen in the mice when being administered dosages of antidepressants very close to human levels. The experiment pitted a group of wild house mice against each other within a 300-square-foot environment in a survival of the fittest competition. An experimental group of mice were then administered Paxil, which is an antidepressant proven to be linked to increased risk of birth defects. The collected data shows that exposed males were less territorial, lower in body weight, had an increased mortality rate, and produced almost 50 percent less offspring. Exposed females showed no change in weight or mortality rate, but did show a drop in the production of offspring. During conventional testing of Paxil by the drug’s manufacturer it was reported that no reproductive side effects were observed at normal dosage levels.

Currently roughly 33 percent of approved prescription drugs in the U.S. are required to carry warning labels or are pulled from the shelves altogether. Senior author of the U study Wayne K. Potts claims his research can help to detect issues with toxicity in preclinical testing. He says this would protect patients from receiving unsafe pharmaceuticals as well as potentially save drug companies billions of dollars that have previously been thrown away with toxic and defective drugs. This experiment provides a test that can give an early warning about possible toxicity in antidepressants at normal prescribed dosage levels. According to the study ‘Other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, don’t appear to pose the same level of risk as Paxil, but their safety for use during pregnancy remains unclear.’