Despite the increasing use of the newer “atypical” or second-generation antipsychotic agents to treat a spectrum of psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, PTSD and other anxiety disorders, we have relatively little data [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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.
Since their introduction in the 1990s, atypical (second-generation) antipsychotics have replaced typical (first generation) antipsychotics as the first-line treatment for schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders. These drugs are widely used by reproductive age women across many other disease states including bipolar disorder, major depression and anxiety disorders as either primary or adjunctive treatments.
Atypical antipsychotic medications are commonly used for the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Despite the increasing use of these medications in women of child-bearing age, there is still relatively little data regarding the reproductive safety of these medications.
Atypical antipsychotics are increasingly used to treat psychiatric disorders such as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. In spite of the important role they play for many patients in treating serious psychiatric disorders, atypicals have been associated with negative side effects that may worsen a patient's cardiovascular health profile. This includes a greater risk for weight gain, glucose dysregulation/diabetes, and dyslipidemia (elevated triglycerides/cholesterol).
Our Perinatal and Reproductive Psychiatry team often discusses clinical cases in Rounds, a confidential forum in which we can get advice and consultation from peers who also work in the area of Women's Mental Health. We discussed a patient's situation recently that highlighted the controversial area about how to prevent mood episodes in a woman planning for pregnancy.
