Monday, May 11, 2009

Bupropion helps pregnant smokers

Smoking while pregnant can cause damage to unborn children and depression is also associated with 'adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes.' Both are common in pregnant women who use illegal drugs. Researchers from John Hopkins University in Baltimore studied 56 women who were enrolled in a drug-treatment programme which combined a week-long residential stay with follow-up outpatient treatment. Some were given bupropion, others were given citalopram or escitalopram and others were given no antidepressants. The women who took bupropion cut down their cigarette smoking by an average of 6.4 cigarettes a day (compared to negligible changes in the other groups) and were much more likely to show an improvement in their depression.

You can find out more about this research at

http://uk.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUKTRE53S7UD20090429?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews&sp=true

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