Last paragraph reads: "Arrested, he told police he was very drunk, had been taking medication for depression, remembered biting someone and said he felt terrible, was very sorry and disgusted.

SSRI Stories Note: The Physicians Desk Reference states that antidepressants can cause a craving for alcohol and alcohol abuse. Also, the liver cannot metabolize the antidepressant and the alcohol simultaneously, thus leading to higher levels of both alcohol and the antidepressant in the human body.

http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/2009/04/23/man-jailed-for-savage-ear-bite-attack-84229-23454566/

Man jailed for savage ear bite attack

Apr 23 2009 by Gareth Lightfoot, Evening Gazette

A SAVAGE, animalistic attack on an innocent stranger has earned Benjamin Cooke five years in prison.

He bit part of a man’s ear off in the street, leaving the victim of the unprovoked drunken assault afraid to go out alone, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Camouflage jacket-clad Cooke, 26, came up behind 53-year-old Paul Swaile, jumped on his back and bit his left ear.

Mr Swaile, who was on his way to celebrate a friend’s birthday at his local pub yards away from his home in North Skelton, struggled to fend off his assailant.

“The defendant continued to behave like a wild animal,” prosecutor Adrian Dent said yesterday.

Cooke also bit Mr Swaile’s left thumb and twice bit his forearm, causing him “absolute agony”, before kicking him and walking away.

Mr Swaile lost part of the upper section of his left ear.

The court was told of the serious effects on self-employed Mr Swaile’s life including depression, fear of going out on his own and loss of about £2,000 earnings.

After the attack, Cooke went to a friend’s house where he seemed to brag “I’ve just bitten someone’s ear off” before being told to leave.

Arrested, he told police he was very drunk, had been taking medication for depression, remembered biting someone and said he felt terrible, was very sorry and disgusted.