People who take newer drugs for Cand other psychotic conditions are supposed to have their blood sugar and cholesterol levels checked regularly but many don't, according to a study released today.
These so-called "second-generation" antipsychotic drugs, which include olanzapine (Zyprexa), risperidone (Risperdal) and aripiprazole (Abilify), were developed because older antipsychotics have significant side effects. However, the newer drugs are known to significantly increase blood sugar and cholesterol levels, raising the risk for diabetes and heart disease.
In a study, researchers found that less than one-third of low-income Medicaid patients who are treated with these drugs have their blood sugar and cholesterol levels checked.
And perhaps even more concerning, say the researchers, screening rates did not increase following government warnings and recommendations calling for increased blood sugar and cholesterol monitoring.
The findings are consistent with others from non-Medicaid populations, Dr. Elaine H. Morrato of the University of Colorado, Denver, who was involved in the study, told Reuters Health.
She has this advice: "If you are taking second-generation antipsychotic drugs, then you should be screened for diabetes and (high cholesterol and fats in the blood) and monitored for potential adverse drug effects. This is important so that you can receive appropriate preventive care and treatment."
READ MORE @ REUTERS
Showing posts with label schizophrenia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label schizophrenia. Show all posts
Monday, January 4, 2010
Monday, December 28, 2009
Schizophrenia Mouse Model Should Improve Understanding and Treatment of the Disorder
Scientists have created what appears to be a schizophrenic mouse by reducing the inhibition of brain cells involved in complex reasoning and decisions about appropriate social behavior.
Findings by Medical College of Georgia scientists, published Dec. 28 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, elucidate the critical balance between excitation and inhibition of these cells that appears to go awry in schizophrenia. They also provide the first animal model for studying the disabling psychiatric disorder that affects about 1 percent of the population.
"We believe the mouse, which exhibits some of the same aberrant behavior as patients with this disorder, will help identify better therapies," said Dr. Lin Mei, a developmental neurobiologist who directs MCG's Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics. "We are doing testing to see if antipsychotic drugs already on the market are effective in treating the mouse."
MCG scientists made the mouse by deleting a candidate gene for schizophrenia, ErbB4, from interneurons, which are brain cells that help shower larger decision-making neurons, called pyramidal cells, with inhibition.
READ MORE @ SCIENCE DAILY
Findings by Medical College of Georgia scientists, published Dec. 28 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, elucidate the critical balance between excitation and inhibition of these cells that appears to go awry in schizophrenia. They also provide the first animal model for studying the disabling psychiatric disorder that affects about 1 percent of the population.
"We believe the mouse, which exhibits some of the same aberrant behavior as patients with this disorder, will help identify better therapies," said Dr. Lin Mei, a developmental neurobiologist who directs MCG's Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics. "We are doing testing to see if antipsychotic drugs already on the market are effective in treating the mouse."
MCG scientists made the mouse by deleting a candidate gene for schizophrenia, ErbB4, from interneurons, which are brain cells that help shower larger decision-making neurons, called pyramidal cells, with inhibition.
READ MORE @ SCIENCE DAILY
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Comorbidity: Schizophrenia With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
The co-occurrence of obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) and psychotic illness has been a challenge for clinicians and investigators for more than a century.1 Over the past decade, interest in this area has burgeoned because of recognition of higher-than-chance comorbidity rates of schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and observations of appearance or exacerbation of OCS during treatment of schizophrenia with atypical antipsychotics.2-6 Emerging neurobiological and genetic evidence suggests that persons with comorbid OCD and schizophrenia may represent a special category of the schizophrenic population.
The evidence for a putative schizo-obsessive disorder is examined and practical treatment suggestions for this subgroup of patients are outlined in this article.7-9
Comorbidity between OCD and schizophrenia
The lifetime prevalence for schizophrenia is 1% and for OCD it is 2% to 3%.10 Comorbidity rates for OCD in the schizophrenia population are substantially higher than what would be expected to occur randomly. In the schizophrenic population, the reported prevalence of clinically significant OCS and of OCD ranges from 10% to 52% and from 7.8% to 26%, respectively.11-23
The higher-than-expected comorbidity rate for OCD and schizophrenia suggests a nonrandom association and possibly an integral relation between these 2 conditions.9 The question is whether this comorbid group with schizo-obsessive disorder represents a more severely ill group with greater brain dysfunction that could, in part, be caused by common neurodevelopmental predisposing factors, or whether the 2 conditions are part of a more complex syndrome that represents a distinct diagnostic entity. The answer could be clarified in part if neurobiological studies were to demonstrate a distinct neuroanatomical substrate in this comorbid group rather than the summation or superimposition of neurobiological lesions observed in the separate disorders.9
READ MORE @ PSYCHIATRIC TIMES
The evidence for a putative schizo-obsessive disorder is examined and practical treatment suggestions for this subgroup of patients are outlined in this article.7-9
Comorbidity between OCD and schizophrenia
The lifetime prevalence for schizophrenia is 1% and for OCD it is 2% to 3%.10 Comorbidity rates for OCD in the schizophrenia population are substantially higher than what would be expected to occur randomly. In the schizophrenic population, the reported prevalence of clinically significant OCS and of OCD ranges from 10% to 52% and from 7.8% to 26%, respectively.11-23
The higher-than-expected comorbidity rate for OCD and schizophrenia suggests a nonrandom association and possibly an integral relation between these 2 conditions.9 The question is whether this comorbid group with schizo-obsessive disorder represents a more severely ill group with greater brain dysfunction that could, in part, be caused by common neurodevelopmental predisposing factors, or whether the 2 conditions are part of a more complex syndrome that represents a distinct diagnostic entity. The answer could be clarified in part if neurobiological studies were to demonstrate a distinct neuroanatomical substrate in this comorbid group rather than the summation or superimposition of neurobiological lesions observed in the separate disorders.9
READ MORE @ PSYCHIATRIC TIMES
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