What works in schizophrenia: depot preparations may improve outcomes.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Peter M Haddad.
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OBJECTIVE: Currently, no evidence-based guidelines exist for the management of serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) discontinuation syndrome. This article summarizes recommendations with respect to future research as well as clinical management recommendations for SRI discontinuation syndrome. PARTICIPANTS: In April 2004, a panel of physicians convened in New York City to discuss recommendations for clinical management of and additional research on SRI discontinuation syndrome. EVIDENCE: Previous guidance for management of SRI discontinuation syndrome was proposed in 1997 in a consensus meeting also chaired by Alan F. Schatzberg. A literature search of the PubMed database was conducted to identify articles on SRI discontinuation syndrome that have been published since 1997. CONSENSUS PROCESS: The 2004 panel reviewed important preclinical and clinical studies, discussed prospective investigation of this syndrome in clinical trials, and suggested the establishment of a research network to collect data in naturalistic settings. The panel also reviewed the management recommendations published in 1997 and subsequently updated the recommendations, taking into account the latest clinical data as well as the personal experience of its members with patients. CONCLUSIONS: Additional preclinical and clinical studies are necessary to further elucidate the underlying biological mechanisms of SRI discontinuation syndrome and to identify the patient populations and agents that are most affected by this phenomenon. Management strategies include gradual tapering of doses and should emphasize clinical monitoring and patient education.
BACKGROUND: Discontinuation symptoms are common following antidepressant treatment. This report characterizes symptoms following duloxetine discontinuation. METHODS: Data were obtained from 9 clinical trials assessing the efficacy and safety of duloxetine in the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). RESULTS: In a pooled analysis of 6 short-term treatment trials, in which treatment was stopped abruptly, discontinuation-emergent adverse events (DEAEs) were reported by 44.3% and 22.9% of duloxetine- and placebo-treated patients, respectively (p<0.05). Among duloxetine-treated patients reporting at least 1 DEAE, the mean number of symptoms was 2.4. DEAEs reported significantly more frequently on abrupt discontinuation of duloxetine compared with placebo were dizziness (12.4%), nausea (5.9%), headache (5.3%), paresthesia (2.9%), vomiting (2.4%), irritability (2.4%), and nightmares (2.0%). Dizziness was also the most frequently reported DEAE in the analyses of 3 long-term duloxetine studies. Across the short- and long-term data sets, 45.1% of DEAEs had resolved in the duloxetine-treated populations by the end of the respective studies, and the majority of these (65.0%) resolved within 7 days. Most patients rated the severity of their symptoms as mild or moderate. A higher proportion of patients reporting DEAEs were seen with 120 mg/day duloxetine compared with lower doses. For doses between 40 and 120 mg/day duloxetine the proportion of patients reporting at least one DEAE differed significantly from placebo. Extended treatment with duloxetine beyond 8-9 weeks did not appear to be associated with an increased incidence or severity of DEAEs. CONCLUSIONS: Abrupt discontinuation of duloxetine is associated with a DEAE profile similar to that seen with other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) and selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) antidepressants. It is recommended that, whenever possible, clinicians gradually reduce the dose no less than 2 weeks before discontinuation of duloxetine treatment. LIMITATIONS: The main limitation is the use of spontaneously reported DEAEs.
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BACKGROUND: Much of the existing data regarding the relationship between antipsychotic medications and diabetes mellitus are non-prospective. AIMS: To review critically non-prospective studies examining antipsychotic medications as risk factors for diabetes mellitus. METHOD: Database and manual searches. RESULTS: Anecdotal reports indicate that conventional and atypical antipsychotics can cause diabetes mellitus. However, retrospective studies cannot reliably quantify this association, as they do not adequately control for confounding risk factors for diabetes, or for variation in detection and diagnosis of this illness. Most studies report a higher rate of diabetes in patients who use antipsychotic medication than in non-users, and in patients taking atypical v. conventional antipsychotics. Studies assessing the relative risks of diabetes between individual atypical antipsychotics are contradictory. CONCLUSIONS: Retrospective data are of limited value. Well-designed prospective studies, which account for potential confounders, are needed to investigate the true association between antipsychotic medications and diabetes.
Hyperprolactinaemia is an important but neglected adverse effect of antipsychotic medication. It occurs frequently with conventional antipsychotics and some atypical antipsychotics (risperidone and amisulpride) but is rare with other atypical antipsychotics (aripiprazole, clozapine, olanzapine, quetiapine, ziprasidone). For this reason the terms 'prolactin-sparing' and 'prolactin-raising' are more useful than 'atypical' and 'conventional' when considering the effect of antipsychotic drugs on serum prolactin. During antipsychotic treatment prolactin levels can rise 10-fold or more above pretreatment values. In a recent study approximately 60% of women and 40% of men treated with a prolactin-raising antipsychotic had a prolactin level above the upper limit of the normal range. The distinction between asymptomatic and symptomatic hyperprolactinaemia is important but is often not made in the literature. Some symptoms of hyperprolactinaemia result from a direct effect of prolactin on target tissues but others result from hypogonadism caused by prolactin disrupting the normal functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. Symptoms of hyperprolactinaemia include gynaecomastia, galactorrhoea, sexual dysfunction, infertility, oligomenorrhoea and amenorrhoea. These symptoms are little researched in psychiatric patients. Existing data suggest that they are common but that clinicians underestimate their prevalence. For example, well conducted studies of women treated with conventional antipsychotics have reported prevalence rates of approximately 45% for oligomenorrhoea/amenorrhoea and 19% for galactorrhoea. An illness-related under-function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis in female patients with schizophrenia may also contribute to menstrual irregularities. Long-term consequences of antipsychotic-related hypogonadism require further research but are likely and include premature bone loss in men and women. There are conflicting data on whether hyperprolactinaemia is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer in women. In patients prescribed antipsychotics who have biochemically confirmed hyperprolactinaemia it is important to exclude other causes of prolactin elevation, in particular tumours in the hypothalamic-pituitary area. If a patient has been amenorrhoeic for 1 year or more, investigations should include bone mineral density measurements. Management should be tailored to the individual patient. Options include reducing the dose of the antipsychotic, switching to a prolactin-sparing agent, prescribing a dopamine receptor agonist and prescribing estrogen replacement in hypoestrogenic female patients. The efficacy and risks of the last two treatment options have not been systematically examined. Antipsychotic-induced hyperprolactinaemia should become a focus of interest in the drug treatment of psychiatric patients, particularly given the recent introduction of prolactin-sparing antipsychotics. Appropriate investigations and effective management should reduce the burden of adverse effects and prevent long-term consequences.
Sudden unexpected deaths have been reported with antipsychotic use since the early 1960s. In some cases the antipsychotic may be unrelated to death, but in others it appears to be a causal factor. Antipsychotics can cause sudden death by several mechanisms, but particular interest has centred on torsade de pointes (TdP), a polymorphic ventricular arrhythmia that can progress to ventricular fibrillation and sudden death. The QTc interval is a heart rate-corrected value that represents the time between the onset of electrical depolarisation of the ventricles and the end of repolarisation. Prolongation of the QTc interval is a surrogate marker for the ability of a drug to cause TdP. In individual patients an absolute QTc interval of >500 msec or an increase of 60 msec from baseline is regarded as indicating an increased risk of TdP. However, TdP can occur with lower QTc values or changes. Concern about a relationship between QTc prolongation, TdP and sudden death applies to a wide range of drugs and has led to the withdrawal or restricted labelling of several. Among antipsychotics available in the UK, sertindole was voluntarily suspended, droperidol was withdrawn, and restricted labelling introduced for thioridazine and pimozide. The degree of QTc prolongation is dose dependent and varies between antipsychotics reflecting their different capacity to block cardiac ion channels. Significant prolongation is not a class effect. Among currently available agents, thioridazine and ziprasidone are associated with the greatest QTc prolongation. Virtually all drugs known to cause TdP block the rapidly activating component of the delayed rectifier potassium current (I(kr)). Arrhythmias are more likely to occur if drug-induced QTc prolongation coexists with other risk factors, such as individual susceptibility, presence of congenital long QT syndromes, heart failure, bradycardia, electrolyte imbalance, overdose of a QTc prolonging drug, female sex, restraint, old age, hepatic or renal impairment, and slow metaboliser status. Pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic interactions can also increase the risk of arrhythmias. Further research is needed to quantify the risk of sudden death with antipsychotics. The risk should be viewed in the context of the overall risks and benefits of antipsychotic treatment. It seems prudent, where possible, to select antipsychotics that are not associated with marked QTc prolongation. If use of a QTc-prolonging drug is warranted, then measures to reduce the risk should be adopted.
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