Quetiapine-related weight loss: Report of a rare adverse effect
Journal Title: Journal of Health and Social Sciences - Year 2018, Vol 3, Issue 2
Abstract
Quetiapine is a second-generation antipsychotic that has been reported to be associated with moderate weight gain. Nevertheless, weight loss that is an infrequent adverse effect of quetiapine has been reported in a few cases of patients who were ab initio started on quetiapine or who gained weight during previous antipsychotic treatment but who lost weight when shifted to quetiapine. We report the case of a 28-year old quarry worker being treated for bipolar affective disorder. Due to unbearable muscle rigidity, she was switched from haloperidol to olanzapine. She gained about 26 kg over 12 months. Her repeated complaints about the weight gain and threats to stop all medications if nothing was done led to her being switched over to quetiapine. Within two months of this switch-over, she gained 1 kg before she gradually started losing weight and by the sixth month, she dropped from 85 kg to 67 kg despite eating well. Unsatisfied with the weight loss, she was switched to aripiprazole. Over few months, she gained up to 3 kg. She had remained mentally stable and functional, and also maintained roughly 70 kg over a year. Though weight gain could occur in virtually every antipsychotic, weight loss has been recorded in very few cases. The mechanism by which quetiapine causes weight loss is not certain. Some proposed mechanisms include paradoxical suppression of appetite, induction of deterioration in insulin resistance, induction of hypoglycaemia, as well as mere switching from a high-risk to a low-risk antipsychotic. Our patient had different experiences with three atypical antipsychotics: she gained excessive weight with olanzapine, lost significant weight with quetiapine, and maintained a normal weight with aripiprazole. Weight changes should be monitored on patients taking antipsychotics. Most of the time clinicians are concerned about weight gain but not weight loss. We recommend that clinicians should pay attention to weight loss as well.
Authors and Affiliations
Nicodemus Okwudili K Obayi, David N. Nweke, Edidiong Idio, Darlington Okey, Cletus Ozibo
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP369912
- DOI 10.19204/2018/qtpn8
- Views 111
- Downloads 0
Need and utilization of primary health care among long-term unemployed Finns
Introduction: Aim of this paper was to identify the attributes of primary health care utilization among long-term unemployed Finns, and to examine whether access to care and the choice of provider differ with respect to...
The high cancer incidence in young people in Italy: do genetic signatures reveal their environmental causes?
The increased incidence of cancer in children and adolescents registered in Italy in the last few decades is one of the highest amongst Western countries. The causes are difficult to identify, but recent daily news and s...
Dysphagia and trismus: an unusual case of tetanus
Tetanus is a life-threatening infection that is rare in the developed world; it is more frequent in the elderly people and immunocompromised patients. We report a case of a 53-year-old woman who presented with dysphagia,...
Education as a key determinant of health: A case study from rural Anhui, China
Introduction: Recent attention has focused on the emergence and causes of substantial health disparities between rural and urban residents in China. This study aims to identify which social determinants contribute to the...
An unusual case of chest pain
We report the case of a 40-year-old woman presenting during the night to the emergency department for thoracic pain and pain in the upper arm. An electrocardiogram (ECG) showed diffuse ST segment elevation. A coronarogra...