Metabolic Syndrome, Schizophrenia Treatment, and a Possible Vulnerability Factor

Risk for the metabolic syndrome increased in treated patients who had one of three polymorphisms encoding the serotonin 2C receptor.

Atypical antipsychotics occupy 5-HT_2C receptors, and 5-HT_2C knockout mice have increased feeding behavior and obesity. Could genetic variants of the 5-HT_2C receptor confer susceptibility to the observed metabolic side effects of these drugs? To find out, investigators in the Netherlands examined the association of metabolic syndrome with different genotypes of the 5-HT_2C receptor in 112 patients taking antipsychotics for schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (>80% were taking clozapine, olanzapine, or risperidone).

Metabolic syndrome was defined as the presence of at least three of four criteria: decreased HDL cholesterol and increased waist circumference, triglycerides, and blood pressure. One quarter of participants had metabolic syndr…

Reviewing Author

Steven Dubovsky, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportTower Foundation; Patrick Lee Foundation; Boehringer Ingelheim; Intra-Cellular Therapies; Janssen; Biogen; Allergan

Editorial BoardsMind and Brain; Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic; Current Psychiatry; Journal of Psychosomatic Research

Steven Dubovsky, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportTower Foundation; Patrick Lee Foundation; Boehringer Ingelheim; Intra-Cellular Therapies; Janssen; Biogen; Allergan

Editorial BoardsMind and Brain; Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic; Current Psychiatry; Journal of Psychosomatic Research

Metabolic Syndrome, Schizophrenia Treatment, and a Possible Vulnerability Factor

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Reviewing Author