Metabolic Effects of Antipsychotic Therapy: The Challenge for Effective Treatment of the Chronically Mentally Ill Book

There has been an explosive growth in the literature on metabolic issues related to antipsychotic therapy in the last decade, epitomized by the decision of the United States Food and Drug Administration in fall 2003 to mandate warnings on all atypical antipsychotics about the risk of hyperglycemia. At present, there is no one volume available for clinicians and academicians which encapsulates the findings related to weight gain, hyperlipidemia and glucose intolerance related to antipsychotic therapy, except for the book Medical Illness and Schizophrenia (American Psychiatric Press Inc, 2003) edited by Jonathan Meyer and Henry Nasrallah, which placed these issues within the context of medical comorbidity in schizophrenia. While that book sold very well (25,000 + copies due to large purchases from the pharmaceutical industry), and provided an introduction to this subject, it fell short of a comprehensive review of the literature in these areas, often failed to cover important issues in depth such as diabetic ketoacidosis related to antipsychotic treatment, and spread various monitoring recommendations throughout the book instead of providing one unified (and easy to locate) scheme. This volume will cover the available literature on metabolic consequences of antipsychotics for the treatment of schizophrenia as well as other common uses where data are available, including bipolar disorder, mental retardation, and dementia.Read More