Quoted from http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=855222
After son's suicide, campaign by Queensbury pair leads to warning label on Singulair
By JENNIFER A. DLOUHY, Washington bureau
First published in print: Wednesday, October 21, 2009
WASHINGTON -- A Warren County couple's campaign to warn the public about the potential psychological side effects of a popular asthma and allergy medicine reached a milestone with drug maker Merck & Co. recently agreeing to add a warning about "neuropsychiatric events" to prescribing information for Singulair.
The two-paragraph notice that agitation, anxiety, hallucinations, suicide and other neuropsychiatric behaviors "have been reported in . . . patients taking Singulair" now will be included in a 19-page document generally consulted by doctors and pharmacists who prescribe and dispense the drug. The change, which was formally announced by the FDA in August, dovetails with separate information for patients noting that users of the medicine have reported "behavior and mood-related changes."
The move was applauded by Kate and Dave Miller of Queensbury, who have lobbied the FDA and Merck to examine and spread awareness of the possible psychological side effects of the drug since 2007, when their 15-year-old son, Cody, committed suicide after using the medicine for 17 days to treat seasonal allergies.