PLASMA LEVELS OF LEPTIN DURING TREATMENT
WITH ANTIPSYCHOTIC DRUGS
T. Kraus,
M. Haack, A. Schuld, D. Hinze-Selch, M. Kò
hn, T. Pollm¬
cher*. Max Planck Institute of
Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
Leptin is a cytokine produced
by fat cells that signals the size of the adipose tissue to
the brain. The authors investigated whether antipsychotic
treatment with clozapine or olanzapine, that often goes along
with weight gain, affects the plasma levels of leptin.
Therefore weight, the body mass index (BMI) and the plasma
levels of leptin were determined longitudinally across four
weeks in psychiatric inpatients who received clozapine
(N=11), olanzapine (N=8), haloperidon (N=16) or no
psychopharmacologic treatment (N=12).
We found that patients
receiving clozapine or olanzapine showed rapid and
significant increases in weight, BMI and in the plasma levels
of leptin, whereas these measures remained stable in patients
who received haloperidon or no psychopharmacological
treatment.
In conclusion weight gain
induced by atypical antipsychotics is associated with
increases in leptin plasma levels, that do not occur as a
consequence of treatment with haloperidol or hospitalization
per se. In animals, leptin has behavioral effects and blunts
neurendocrine activation induced by stress. Interestingly
there is some evidence that weight during antipsychotic
treatment correlates to clinical improvement. Therefore, it
seems worthwhile to test the hypothesis that leptin has
psychotropic effects in humans.