Antipsychotic Medications: Women and Men Respond Differently
Understanding important differences between men and women in terms of response to antipsychotic medications is essential to improving outcomes and decreasing risk for side effects.
Menopause Increases Risk of Relapse in Women with Schizophrenia
Menopause is a period of increased risk for women with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, and women are at higher risk for relapse than their age-matched male counterparts.
Antipsychotic Medication Use in Pregnancy and Risk of Maternal and Neonatal Metabolic Complications
In this retrospective study of Taiwanese women using antipsychotic medications there was no observed increase in risk of metabolic complications.
Adjunctive Treatment with Estrogen in Premenopausal Women with Schizophrenia
There is cumulative evidence suggesting that estrogen might play a role in the development of schizophrenia and therefore may be useful in the treatment of this illness. On average, the first signs of schizophrenia appear [...]
Estrogen Receptor Modulator Raloxifene for Women with Schizophrenia
Several years ago, we reviewed a paper suggesting that estrogen may have beneficial effects for women with schizophrenia. In this study, women with schizophrenia were treated with estrogen in addition to their antipsychotic medications. Adjunctive [...]
Preconception and Pregnancy Obesity Among Women with Psychiatric Disorders: An Important Risk Factor
Individuals with psychiatric disorders are at higher risk for obesity than the general population, as well as for medical comorbidity, such as diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and cardiovascular disease. Moreover, many medications for psychiatric disorders worsen [...]
In Brief: Study Finds No Link Between Antipsychotics and Gestational Diabetes
Given the number of younger women using atypical antipsychotic medications, we need more accurate data regarding the reproductive safety of these medications. To better understand the link between antipsychotic medication and medical conditions associated with [...]
Meta-Analysis: Antipsychotics and Pregnancy Outcomes
Second-generation or “atypical” antipsychotics, such as olanzapine (Zyprexa), aripiprazole (Abilify), and risperidone (Risperdal), are used far more frequently than are the first-generation or “typical” antipsychotics, such as haloperidol (Haldol). This is largely because the newer [...]
Pregnancy Outcomes in Women with Schizophrenia
With the advent of the newer, atypical antipsychotic medications, patients with psychotic disorders have been able to achieve greater symptom control with less disabling side effects. For women with schizophrenia, there has also been an increase in fertility rates over the last decade. Previous studies have suggested that women with schizophrenia, as compared to women with no psychiatric illness, are at increased risk for pregnancy and delivery complications, including low birthweight, intrauterine growth restriction, and preterm birth. However, most of these studies occurred at a time when the women were treated with older antipsychotic medications, and we cannot assume that these findings are relevant now, when women with schizophrenia are more commonly treated with the newer atypical antipsychotics and have much better control of their symptoms.
Antipsychotics and Pregnancy Part 2: Preliminary Data from the MGH Pregnancy Registry
This is the second part of a two part series on the use of antipsychotic medications during pregnancy. Read Part 1 here, which reviews data from the Australian antipsychotic registry.