A Probiotic Strategy for Antipsychotic-induced Metabolic Dysfunction

Antipsychotic drugs are used to treat a range of psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, and psychotic depression. Most antipsychotics are associated with significant weight gain and metabolic disturbances, which increase the risks for other diseases (obesity, diabetes, coronary diseases, etc.) and negatively impact medication adherence and quality of life. Evidence has shown that Olanzapine, for example, increases appetite, food intake, and food reward and modulates the gut microbiota. The gut microbiota can modulate adiposity, metabolism and immune-endocrine signals that impact host's energy balance and feeding behaviour. This, together with the fact that antipsychotic-induced remodelling of the gut microbiota has been associated with weight gain, suggests that microbiota-targeted interventions could help to alleviate or prevent the distressing side-effects of antipsychotic medications. The investigators have previously published promising data demonstrating anti-obesity effects of a novel Bifidobacterium longum APC1472, in a mouse model of obesity and in an overweight/obese population of humans, reducing levels of glucose and normalizing ghrelin levels. Because atypical antipsychotic medications are often used in people experiencing psychosis and the mechanisms of antipsychotic-induced weight gain and metabolic dysfunction have been suggested to include glucose intolerance (hyperglycaemia) and aberrant ghrelin signalling, the investigators propose…

This description comes directly from the study's public registry record.

Harriet Schellekens, PhD  ·  + 353 (0) 21 420 5429  ·  H.schellekens@ucc.ie

Always discuss trial participation with your own doctor first.

Get one email when the public record changes — results posted, or the study's status changes. Nothing else, ever.

We email about this public record only. Unsubscribe anytime with one click. Never medical advice.