Medication news 2006

Newer schizophrenia drugs May be no better than older ones (10/26/06)

Ziprasidone and Clozapine as efficient in the treatment of patients who don't respond to other antipsychotic drugs (07/17/06)

Clozapine and olanzapine may increase the risk for diabetes (01/10/06)

Source: Eyewitness News, Friday, October 6, 2006

Ziprasidone and Clozapine as efficient in the treatment of patients who don't respond to other antipsychotic drugs (07/17/06)
Ziprasidone and clozapine show equivalent improvement in treatment of patients with schizophrenia who don't respond to other antipsychotic medicines, according to results of an 18-week study. The results were presented on May 23rd at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (APA).
Source: Doctor's Guide, Friday, May 26, and Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, May 23, 2006

Clozapine and olanzapine may increase the risk for diabetes (01/10/06)
The newer atypical antipsychotic agents have been linked to several forms of negative effects, including obesity, hyperlipidemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus and diabetic ketoacidosis, a severe complication of diabetes. In a study recently the researchers evaluated 36 non-obese outpatients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder who were treated with clozapine, olanzapine, or risperidone. The results show that nonobese clozapine- and olanzapine-treated groups displayed significant insulin resistance and impairment of glucose effectiveness compared with risperidone-treated subjects. The authors suggest that psychiatrists and primary care professionals should be aware that patients treated with clozapine and olanzapine may be at increased risk for insulin resistance and therefore should be be routinely screened.
Source: Kansas City infoZine, Wednesday, January 5, and Archives of General Psychiatry, v. 62(1), p. 19-28, 2005
Read more in article at www.infozine.com
PubMed abstract