Diabetes and atypical antipsychotics

Background

Atypical antipsychotic medicines are highly advanced compared to older classical antipsychotic factors. However, newer factors have been recently associated with other side effects, such as hyperglycemia, diabetes, increase of the body's weight and abnormal levels of lipids.

Even more alarming, due to high death risks, were numerous reports from patients, who were under treatment with Clozapine or Olanzapine. These patients developed diabetic cetoxin soon after starting taking these medicines.

The aim of this essay is to prove whether atypical antipsychotics are associated with the appearance of diabetes, increase of the body's weight and abnormal levels of lipids, or not.

Materials and methods

102 patients have been studied. They were treated with atypical antipsychotics and they had normal weight, blood diabetes level, and serum lipids, at the beginning of their treatment. They suffered either from Schizophrenia mostly, or from Bipolar Emotional Disorder. These patients were taking Risperidone, Olanzapine, Clozapine, Quetiapine, Amisoulpiride, Ziprasidone and Aripripazole.

Six months after the beginning of the treatment with these particular antipsychotics, the patients' weight, their diabetes level and the number of their serum lipids were measured.

Results

12 of the patients had symptoms concerning their blood diabetes. It was at a higher level. 6 of them were taking Clozapine, 4 of them Olanzapine, one aripripazole and one Risperidone. 37 other patients gained weight, 22 of which were taking Olanzapine, 9 Clozapine, 5 Risperidone, and one Quetiapine. 22 other patients had an increase at their serum lipids' level. 11 of them were taking Olanzapine, 5 Clozapine, 4 Risperidone, one Quetiapine and one Amisoulpiride.

Conclusions

It seems that almost all atypical antipsychotics and mostly Clozapine and Olanzapine can cause increase of the blood diabetes level, of the weight and of total serum lipids level.