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Antithyroid medications and psychosis
Roberto Vita1, Valeria Mazzi, Alessandro Antonelli
1University of Messina, Department of Clinical & Experimental Medicine, Section of Endocrinology , Viale Gazzi, Padiglione H, 4 piano, 98125 Messina , Italy +39 090 221 3560 ; +39 090 2213518 ; roberto.vita@yahoo.it.
Expert Opinion on Drug Safety
|July 26, 2013
Summary
Antithyroid drugs (ATDs) can rarely cause acute psychosis in patients. Careful monitoring of thyroid hormone levels (TSH, FT3, FT4) is crucial for patients experiencing mental disorders while on ATDs.
Area of Science:
- Endocrinology
- Psychiatry
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Antithyroid drugs (ATDs) are standard treatment for hyperthyroidism.
- Rare instances of ATDs inducing acute psychosis in patients without prior psychiatric history have been reported.
Purpose of the Study:
- To conduct a literature review on psychosis as a potential side effect of ATDs.
- To offer expert opinion on the association between ATDs and psychosis.
Main Methods:
- Review of historical case reports of psychosis linked to ATD use.
- Analysis of limitations in previous case reports, including lack of detailed thyroid hormone profiles and confounding psychiatric treatments.
Main Results:
- Few cases of ATD-induced psychosis exist, mostly from pre-modern diagnostic eras.
- Difficulty in definitively attributing psychosis resolution to ATD withdrawal due to concurrent psychiatric therapies.
Conclusions:
- Accurate monitoring of TSH, FT3, and FT4 levels is essential for patients on ATDs who develop mental disorders.
- Advanced imaging techniques may aid in excluding other neurological causes like autoimmune thyroid disease-related encephalopathy.
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