Trial Spotlights Pentagon Use of Unapproved Antipsychotics for Post-Traumatic Stress

(MoneyWatch)  A trial under way in New Jersey has the potential to shine a spotlight on the antipsychotic drugs given to veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, and whether they harm the health of soldiers trying to cope with their war memories.

The trial -- the first of more than 10,000 cases which allege that AstraZeneca (AZN)'s antipsychotic drug Seroquel causes weight gain and diabetes -- has nothing to do with Iraq or Afghanistan as such, but by coincidence the plaintiff is a Vietnam veteran. Ted Baker alleges he contracted diabetes after taking Seroquel for lingering post-traumatic stress disorder from the war.

Independent journalist Martha Rosenberg of Alternet has also identified six soldiers who served in Iraq or Afghanistan who died suddenly while on Seroquel cocktails for PTSD. In addition:

Death certificates and other records collected by veteran family members show that more than 100 similar deaths have occurred among Iraq and Afghanistan combat vets and other military personnel, many of whom took PTSD cocktails that included Seroquel and other antipsychotics, antidepressants, mood stabilizers, sleep inducers and pain and seizure medications.

Seroquel is not approved for PTSD, but Pentagon purchases of the drug nearly doubled between 2003 and 2007. Elspeth Ritchie, the medical director of the Army's strategic communications office, told the Denver Post that Seroquel:

... is proving very useful for the treatment of anxiety and combat-related nightmares. Thus it has been increasingly utilized as an adjunct for PTSD, in both the civilian and military worlds.

These issues won't be discussed at the Baker trial, of course. And AstraZeneca has repeatedly asserted that it has not promoted the drug for unapproved, off-label uses such as PTSD. Still, the fact that the Pentagon is utilizing a drug on veterans that is now widely believed to harm the physical health of patients as much as it may help their mental health seems likely to generate future PR headaches for the company.

Related:

• AstraZeneca Keeps Upper Hand in Seroquel War, But Cost of Each Case Is Rising
• AstraZeneca Layoffs: Blame the Lawyers (and the Seroquel Marketers)
• Separated at Birth? AstraZeneca's Seroquel Ads and Photos by Chinese Artist Lui Bolin
• AstraZeneca's New Seroquel Ad Has 5 Pages of Legal Disclaimers
• Why AstraZeneca's $1B Antidepressant Bet Faces Big Risks
• AZ Promoted Seroquel as Superior to Haldol When Company Data Said It Wasn't
• AZ's Seroquel Legal Bill Is $1.1B and Getting Bigger

Image by Flickr user The National Guard, CC.