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Serum ghrelin concentrations in patients receiving olanzapine or risperidone
Takashi Togo1, Koichi Hasegawa, Satoshi Miura
1Department of Psychiatry, Yokohama Maioka Hospital, Maioka-cho 3482, Totsuka-ku, 244-0813 Yokohama, Japan. togo-t@rd6.so-net.ne.jp
Psychopharmacology
|October 11, 2003
Summary
Antipsychotic treatment can cause weight gain, but ghrelin levels did not increase in patients taking olanzapine or risperidone. These findings suggest ghrelin is not directly responsible for antipsychotic-induced weight gain.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Endocrinology
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Antipsychotic medications, particularly olanzapine and clozapine, are associated with significant appetite enhancement and weight gain.
- The precise biological mechanisms underlying these adverse effects remain largely undetermined.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of ghrelin, a key appetite-stimulating gastrointestinal hormone, in the weight gain observed during antipsychotic therapy.
- To test the hypothesis that elevated ghrelin levels contribute to increased food intake and subsequent weight gain in patients treated with antipsychotics.
Main Methods:
- Serum ghrelin concentrations were measured in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia who were undergoing treatment with either olanzapine or risperidone.
- Serum ghrelin levels in these patient groups were compared to those of healthy volunteers without psychiatric conditions or antipsychotic treatment.
Main Results:
- Contrary to the hypothesis, serum ghrelin concentrations were found to be decreased, not increased, in patients treated with olanzapine or risperidone compared to healthy controls.
- No statistically significant difference in serum ghrelin levels was observed between patients receiving olanzapine and those receiving risperidone.
Conclusions:
- The study concludes that ghrelin does not appear to be a direct causative factor in the increased food intake and weight gain associated with olanzapine or risperidone treatment.
- However, ghrelin levels are demonstrably associated with metabolic alterations observed in patients receiving these antipsychotic agents.