Postpartum psychosis is a psychiatric emergency. Evidence supports early use of lithium plus antipsychotics—and, when needed, ECT—to achieve remission and prevent relapse.
Exposure to long-acting injectable and oral second-generation antipsychotics during pregnancy was associated with similar obstetric outcomes in a large retrospective study.
No major malformations were associated with olanzapine exposure during the first trimester of pregnancy.
In a cohort of 351 children exposed to second generation antipsychotic during pregnancy, the risk of major congenital malformations did not differ from a comparison group of non-exposed children.
Second-generation antipsychotic medications associated with high metabolic risk (quetiapine, olanzapine, and clozapine) were associated with increased risk of gestational diabetes; other antipsychotics were not.
Despite the increasing use of the newer atypical or second-generation antipsychotic agents to treat a spectrum of psychiatric disorders, including psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder, major depression, PTSD and other anxiety disorders, we have relatively little [...]
Women with schizophrenia may experience worsening of their symptoms as they transition into the menopause.Â
Menstrual irregularity is a common side effect of antipsychotic treatment in women, occurring more commonly in those treated with risperidone and the older antipsychotic medications. New research presented at the APA earlier this month indicated that the addition of metformin at 500 mg bid resolved menstrual irregularities in most women treated with antipsychotic medications. (Metformin is a medication used alone or with other medications, including insulin, to treat type 2 diabetes.) In addition, women receiving metformin lost an average 2.4 kg of weight after 6 months of treatment.
