Prozac May Blunt Fits of Anger

ABCNEWS

C H I C A G O, Dec. 14 — Low levels of a natural brain chemical called serotonin may frequently be the reason people explode in fits of rage, according to a study that says the antidepressant Prozac often reduces their aggressiveness.
     Forty people who considered their explosive tempers a problem enrolled in the study.
     "One of the people that we studied had road rage," said Dr. Emil F. Coccaro, lead researcher and a psychiatry professor at Allegheny University of the Health Sciences in Philadelphia.
     "He went nuts in traffic, heard our ad on the radio, and called us up. He came into the study and was helped by the drug. He was one of the success stories," Coccaro said Friday.
     In a week, each subject typically had fits of temper equivalent to 15 verbal outbursts directed at others, eight physical outbursts directed at objects or two physical assaults against others, the researchers said.
     Twenty-seven participants were given Prozac and 13 got a placebo. Neither group knew what they were getting.

Not Everyone Helped
Prozac significantly reduced aggression for some subjects, although not everyone was helped, researchers reported in the December issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, published by the American Medical Association.
     The drug helps maintain levels of serotonin, a brain chemical that helps regulate mood and has been linked with controlling aggression in previous studies.
     Prozac is currently approved to treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and bulimia. Doctors may prescribe it for other reasons if they believe it is appropriate

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