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ADHD drug may be linked to suicidal thoughts

By wire services
Published September 30, 2005

WASHINGTON - The Food and Drug Administration warned doctors Thursday about reports of suicidal thinking in some children and adolescents who take Strattera, a drug used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Manufacturer Eli Lilly & Co. announced that a black-box warning will be added to the drug's label in the U.S. Such a warning is the most serious that can be added to a medication's label. The company said a study showed instances of suicidal thinking were rare.

The FDA said it "is advising health care providers and caregivers that children and adolescents being treated with Strattera should be closely monitored for clinical worsening, as well as agitation, irritability, suicidal thinking or behaviors, and unusual changes in behavior."

MIAMI - Elian Gonzalez, the Cuban boy at the center of an international custody battle five years ago, calls Cuban President Fidel Castro his friend but also says he hopes someday to see his Miami family again.

"Despite everything they did, it was wrong, they are (still) my family," the boy said in the interview with CBS's 60 Minutes . The program airs Sunday night.

Elian, now 11, was rescued off the Florida coast in 1999. His mother died at sea.

The boy was reunited with his father in Cuba after an armed federal raid April 22, 2000, on his relatives' home. Since then Elian has been treated as a hero in Cuba.

In the interview, Elian said he considers Castro "not only as a friend, but also as a father."

[Last modified September 30, 2005, 01:37:04]