November 2004
Researcher conducted at Johns Hopkins Children's Center suggests that the use of "atypical antipsychotic" medications by children may trigger insulin resistance, a condition that increases the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and heart disease later in life.
The researchers evaluated 11 children, some overweight and others obese, who gained significant amounts of weight while taking the new-generation, or atypical, antipsychotic drugs olanzpine, quetiapine, and risperidone. Weight gain is a common side effect of atypical antipsychotic medications, and is also one of the many factors that can contribute to insulin resistance.
All six children on moderate or high doses of one of these drugs, and three of five children on low doses, had evidence of insulin resistance, a condition in which the body cannot properly use the insulin it produces. These newer atypical antipsychotics creates fewer side effects than older drugs used to treat major mental health disorders such as schizophrenia. The drugs, which balance certain chemicals in the brain and stabilize mood, have been used with children since being introduced in the 1990s.
If the study's findings are confirmed by larger follow-up studies, monitoring of metabolic side effects are likely to become standard practice among clinicians prescribing atypical antipsychotics to children. Insulin resistance occurs when muscle, fat, and liver cells do not properly use insulin, the hormone produced by the pancreas that helps cells absorb glucose and provides a source of energy to the body. Insulin resistance is associated with an increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
Reference: Mark A. Riddle, M.D., David Cooke, M.D., and Helen Courvoisie, M.D., from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in Washington, D.C. (October 19-24, 2004)
Last updated 11/5/05
