Singulair not linked to suicide, depression

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - There's no evidence that using the allergy/asthma drug Singulair increases the risk of depression or suicide, according to a review of data from three clinical trials.

Recent reports have raised concerns of a link between suicide and Singulair, also known by the generic name montelukast. The current study, conducted by Dr. Janet Holbrook and Dr. Raida Harik-Khan from the American Lung Association, indicates that the concerns are not warranted.

A total of 1352 patients were enrolled in the clinical trials, and 536 were treated with montelukast. All of the trials were conducted by the American Lung Association's Asthma Clinical Research Centers (ACRC).

There was no evidence in either adult patients or children that treatment with montelukast negatively affected emotional well-being, the authors report in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

In fact, there was an indication that montelukast therapy actually had a beneficial effect in this regard.

"While our review of ACRC trial data is reassuring, we obviously cannot exclude the possibility of idiosyncratic reactions to montelukast," the investigators conclude.

SOURCE: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2008.