Suggested citation for this article: McGinn E. Medical treatment and weight gain [letter to the editor]. Prev Chronic Dis [serial online] 2007 Jul [date cited]. Available from: " Addressing the Obesity Epidemic: A Genomics Perspective " in your April 2007 (1) issue speaks of the importance of considering all aspects of obesity. However, one aspect overlooked in the article is weight gain associ...

Monitoring gene expression has been intensively used to identify neurobiological and neuroanatomical substrates associated with administration of antipsychotic drugs. Transcription factors of the Nur family (Nurr1, Nur77, and Nor-1) are orphan nuclear receptors that have been recently associated with dopamine neurotransmission. Nurr1 is involved in midbrain dopamine neuron development. Nur77 an...

Ziprasidone is an atypical antipsychotic drug that is believed to have a low propensity for inducing extrapyramidal symptoms, including tardive dyskinesia (TD). Two of our patients developed TD after 23 months and 34 months of ziprasidone monotherapy, respectively. One of the patients had had earlier exposure to typical antipsychotic drugs, but no other predisposing factors for TD were noted. T...

OBJECTIVE When a schizophrenia patient has an inadequate response to treatment with an antipsychotic drug, it is unclear what other antipsychotic to switch to and when to use clozapine. In this study, the authors compared switching to clozapine with switching to another atypical antipsychotic in patients who had discontinued treatment with a newer atypical antipsychotic in the context of the Cl...

BACKGROUND Atypical antipsychotic agents are thought to be less likely than older typical agents to produce parkinsonism. This has not been well documented. We compared the risk of development of incident parkinsonism among older adults dispensed atypical relative to typical antipsychotics. METHODS Retrospective cohort study of all adults 66 years and older in Ontario. We used Cox proportiona...

OBJECTIVE To review the role of oral atypical antipsychotic drugs in the management of the behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). DATA SOURCES Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Library. Reference lists were reviewed and experts were contacted to identify additional trials. STUDY SELECTION Double blind randomised controlled trials that evaluated the four oral atypical ant...

The characteristics of new antipsychotic drugs (atypical antipsychotic drugs) and their effective use are discussed. Atypical antipsychotic drugs can be considered modified drugs that resulted when the dopamine D2 receptor-blocking effect of typical antipsychotic drugs was either lowered in affinity or combined with effects on other receptors (serotonin 5-HT2A receptor-blocking effect in partic...

OBJECTIVES To describe the use of atypical antipsychotic medications in a Medicaid-enrolled population composed primarily of elderly and disabled patients. Our analyses focused upon the frequency of use of polytherapy with multiple antipsychotic medications and the prescribing of off-label dosages. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional retrospective analysis of oral antipsychotic medication ...

BACKGROUND Antipsychotics are used to treat delirium in the intensive care unit (ICU) despite unproven efficacy. We hypothesized that atypical antipsychotic treatment in the ICU is a risk factor for antipsychotic prescription at discharge, a practice that might increase risk since long-term use is associated with increased mortality. METHODS After excluding patients on antipsychotics prior to...

Antipsychotics are generally distinguished as atypical and typical agents, which are indicated in the treatment of acute and chronic psychoses and other psychiatric disorders. In April 2005, the US Food and Drug Administration issued a warning about the increased risk of all-cause mortality associated with atypical antipsychotic use in elderly patients with dementia. Pneumonia was one of the mo...