The anti-psychotic Zyprexa is making headlines, again. The amount of money Eli Lilly is paying to defend itself and its tactics in marketing the drug is rising (estimated to be now more than 0.2 billion US dollars since 2004 ). Zyprexa is also one of the most profitable Anti-psychotic medications (almost 5 billion US dollars in 2007).
The metabolic syndrome, a condition of weight gain, hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia (which could possibly raise the chances of getting diabetes or atherosclerosis), is common to all second generation anti-psychotics. Zyprexa appears to be the worst regarding this side effect.
This blog chronicles the lawsuits by the company. Interestingly this same blog, in a strange twist, received an award co-sponsored by lilly. It also posted internal memos and documents that describes how the company obscured the drug's side effects from health care professionals.
Despite the questionable ethics of Lilly's marketing department. The drug is effective in treating psychosis.
Zyprexa is still very expensive in Egypt. A 10mg pill costs 25 EGP. Patients who receive Anti-psychotic medications need to take them for very long periods and sometimes for life.
Egyptian packed generics are also inaccessible to low income patients.
Ah, yes I read about this combination somewhere before. But don't you think that adding an anti-diabetic with the anti-psychotic is too much trouble. And I don't know about the safety of such thing, plus will this mean some patients will take the metformin and others will not?
This solves the hyperglycemia issue, now what about the dyslipidemia?
of curse it's too much hassle. but u already add anticholinergic medications and sometimes b-blockers to conventional anti-psychotics.
i'm not sure about how this will work out, but i think with more trials there will be more obvious dosing recommendations. now, if a patient is improving on olanzapine and not on conventional anti-psychotics, i think it'd be good to be able to use metformin to control metabolic syndrome.
i don't know about the dyslipidemia.. omega-3? statins?
but, that's probably too much...
a recent chinese study showed
a recent chinese study showed that metofrmin was effective in anti-psychotic induced weight gain and metabolic syndrome...
Ah, yes I read about this
Ah, yes I read about this combination somewhere before. But don't you think that adding an anti-diabetic with the anti-psychotic is too much trouble. And I don't know about the safety of such thing, plus will this mean some patients will take the metformin and others will not?
This solves the hyperglycemia issue, now what about the dyslipidemia?
of curse it's too much
of curse it's too much hassle. but u already add anticholinergic medications and sometimes b-blockers to conventional anti-psychotics.
i'm not sure about how this will work out, but i think with more trials there will be more obvious dosing recommendations. now, if a patient is improving on olanzapine and not on conventional anti-psychotics, i think it'd be good to be able to use metformin to control metabolic syndrome.
i don't know about the dyslipidemia.. omega-3? statins?
but, that's probably too much...