Antipsychotics May Cause Diabetes By Thwarting Crucial Pathway

Antipsychotics—some of the most prescribed medications in the United States—can interfere with normal metabolism by activating a protein in the transforming growth factor beta pathway, scientists reported January 31 in Molecular Psychiatry. This pathway regulates cell growth, inflammation, insulin signaling, and other biological processes. Moreover, antipsychotics known to cause obesity and diabetes were found to activate this pathway, whereas antipsychotics that are not known to raise risk of obesity and diabetes did not. Thus the scientists believe that those antipsychotics that cause obesity and diabetes do so by activating this pathway.

Other up-to-date information about antipsychotic medications—both FDA-approved and off-label indications, strengths, formulations, pharmacokinetics, dosing, and common side effects—can be found in the American Psychiatric Publishing book The Evidence-Based Guide to Antipsychotic Medications. For more information on this publication, click here.


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