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Antipsychotic Drugs Raise Heart Risks, Experts Warn
Posted 18 Feb 2011 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Feb. 18 – Doctors must not forget about the physical health of people with serious mental health disorders who take antipsychotic drugs, experts warn. The authors of an editorial in the Feb. 19 issue of The Lancet noted that patients with severe mental illness live an average of 16 years less than people in the general population. Heart disease, not suicide, is the major cause of death in these patients and antipsychotic drugs are a factor. A study published recently in the Archives of General Psychiatry found that patients who took an antipsychotic drug gained 11 to 13 pounds within six to eight weeks after they starting taking the drug. "The combination of antipsychotic side effects with poor diet, physical inactivity, high rates of smoking and other factors associated with psychotic illness, together with socioeconomic deprivation, has a devastating effect on cardiometabolic ... Read more
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Schizophrenia Drugs May Spur Subtle Brain Tissue Loss
Posted 10 Feb 2011 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Feb. 7 – The use of antipsychotic drugs to treat schizophrenia is associated with the loss of a small but measurable amount of brain tissue, a new study finds. It included 211 schizophrenia patients who each underwent an average of three MRI brain scans over 7.2 years, for a total of 674 scans in the study group. The researchers then examined how four factors affected changes in brain volume over time: illness duration, illness severity, substance abuse and treatment with antipsychotic drugs. Longer duration of illness and antipsychotic treatment were both associated with loss of brain tissue. Higher doses of antipsychotics were associated with overall brain tissue loss, reduced gray matter and progressive declines in white matter. Illness severity and substance abuse had little or no association with brain tissue changes, according to the study, published in the February issue ... Read more
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