Ananth et al. euroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) is a wellrecognized, serious side effect of antipsychotic

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Our ability to treat depression has improved with the availability of receptor-specific and chemically diverse groups of antidepressants. Even now, most of the short-term studies indicate that about 20% of depressed patients remain resistant to treatment. Therefore, it is important to properly assess the treatment-resistant depressed (TRD) patients and to separate the truly refractory patients from those inadequately treated. Undiagnosed medical conditions should be eliminated. TRD is neither a clinically nor a biologically identifiable entity. As there are no established methods for the treatment of TRD, all options should be considered. The clinician can be enriched by the knowledge of the treatment modalities available, and yet, in treating an individual patient, clinical skills, intuitive judgment, family history of response to drugs and side effects, all play a vital role. Several of the approaches described in the paper indicate available methods and their merits in general but there is no way of ascertaining by which particular method a patient should be treated. The three common methods of treatment are substitution of one antidepressant drug for another, combination therapies and augmentation techniques. These are based on clinical experiences and not research findings. Therefore the treatment of TRD patients is more an art than a science. The physician should assess all the psychopathological, phenomenological and psychosocial variables to appropriately treat an individual patient.

There is compelling evidence that patients with schizophrenia are prone to gain weight. In addition, atypical antipsychotic (AAP) drugs also induce weight gain. All antipsychotic drugs produce weight gain but the potential varies. Many studies overwhelmingly confirm that AAP drugs produce substantially more weight gain in comparison to conventional antipsychotic drugs. Clozapine and olanzapine have the most weight inducing potential. Even ziprasidone, which is considered to be weight neutral, and aripiprazole a dopamine modulator produce weight gain in some. The pathophysiology of weight gain is complicated. Many neurohormones, neuropeptides, gut hormones, as well as adipose tissue and hair root derived hormones interact with environmental factors to produce weight gain. Management of weight gain is a difficult problem. Basic to treatment is an understanding of the etiology. Drug induced obesity provides a unique opportunity to psychiatrists to understand this clinically important problem. In the absence of this knowledge, prevention is the best hope. Education, diet control and simple behavioral measures may prevent excessive weight gain. In those with weight gain, treatment can be attempted with pharmacotherapy with careful monitoring of the side effects.

Neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) is associated with the administration of antipsychotic agents and other drugs such as l-dopa, antidepressants, and antihistaminic agents. Unexpected changes in mental status, new-onset catatonia, episodic tachycardia, tachypnea, hypertension, dysarthria, dysphagia, diaphoresis, sialorrhea, incontinence, low-grade temperature elevations, and rigidity should arouse suspicion. Several lines of evidence provide support for the involvement of dopamine. Most of the drugs implicated in NMS are D2 dopamine receptor antagonists. Central noradrenergic activity is also possibly related to the disorder, as sympathetic hyperactivity is associated with the active phase of NMS. Currently, the definitive role of GABA deficiency in NMS is yet to be established. Differential diagnosis should include malignant hyperthermia, lethal catatonia, lithium toxicity, serotonin syndrome, and heat stroke. A high degree of suspicion and the discontinuation of antipsychotic agents even if the diagnosis is not established are essential for the safety of the patient. Treatment of NMS should be individualized and be based empirically on the character, duration, and severity of the clinical signs and symptoms noted. The initial step in the treatment of NMS is the removal of the offending agent. Full-blown NMS is a serious condition and requires immediate supportive, nutritive, and electrolyte therapies. The administration of drugs that can improve NMS, such as IV dantrolene and/or oral bromocriptine, may also be taken into consideration, based on the severity and nature of the NMS.

Recently there has been increased concern over the side effects of the atypical antipsychotic drugs, including diabetes, hyperlipidemia and obesity. The relationship between diabetes and antipsychotic drugs requires a careful analysis. Patients with schizophrenia are known to suffer from diabetes more often than the general population. In addition, a number of case reports indicate that the conventional antipsychotic as well as atypical antipsychotic drugs produce diabetes. Clozapine and olanzapine, in particular, have been implicated producing diabetes as well as diabetic ketoacidosis. Epidemiological surveys have supplemented the case reports, finding increased incidence of diabetes in patients treated with atypical antipsychotic agents, but these surveys have not yielded consistent results regarding the differential effects of the various atypical antipsychotic drugs. The mechanism by which antipsychotic agents produce diabetes is not elucidated. Weight gain and consequent alteration in triglycerides and cholesterol have been known to occur frequently with olanzapine and clozapine. The ensuing metabolic syndrome itself may cause insulin resistance and diabetes. In the absence of definitive scientific data on the differential effects of antipsychotic drugs in inducing diabetes, clinical prudence and careful monitoring of all patients on atypical antipsychotic drugs is necessary. Aripiprazole and ziprasidone have not been shown to increase weight or produce diabetes, but more information on the diabetogenic effects of ziprasidone and aripiprazole is needed. In order to assess the differential effects of atypical antipsychotic drugs in producing diabetes and the mechanisms by which they produce this reaction, further research is necessary.

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