Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes: Impact on Weight, Quality of Life, and Psychiatric Symptoms in Veterans With Mental Illness.

Introduction: Veterans with mental illness tend to have shorter life spans and suboptimal physical health because of a variety of factors. These factors include poor nutrition, being overweight, and smoking cigarettes. Nonphysical contributors that may affect quality of life are the stigma associated with mental illness, social difficulties, and spiritual crises.

A Randomized, Controlled Multisite Study of Behavioral Interventions for Veterans with Mental Illness and Antipsychotic Medication-Associated Obesity.

Background: Weight gain and other metabolic sequelae of antipsychotic medications can lead to medication non-adherence, reduced quality of life, increased costs, and premature mortality. Of the approaches to address this, behavioral interventions are less invasive, cost less, and can result in sustained long-term benefits.

Objective: We investigated behavioral weight management interventions for veterans with mental illness across four medical centers within the Veterans Affairs (VA) Healthcare System.

Detecting and Managing Adverse Effects of Antipsychotic Medications: Current State of Play.

Antipsychotics are some of the most frequently prescribed medications not only for psychotic disorders and symptoms but also for a wide range of on-label and off-label indications. Because second-generation antipsychotics have largely replaced first-generation antipsychotics as first-line options due to their substantially decreased risk of extrapyramidal side effects, attention has shifted to other clinically concerning adverse events associated with antipsychotic therapy. The focus of this article is to update the nonextrapyramidal side effects associated with second-generation antipsychotics.

Meal replacements as a weight loss tool in a population with severe mental illness.

Weight gain and worsening metabolic parameters are often side effects of antipsychotic medications used by individuals with severe mental illness. To address this, a randomized, controlled research study of a behavioral weight management program for individuals with severe mental illness was undertaken to assess its efficacy. Patients unable to meet weight loss goals during the first portion of the year-long study were given the option of using meal replacement shakes in an effort to assist with weight loss.

Aripiprazole partial agonism at 5-HT2C: a comparison of weight gain associated with aripiprazole adjunctive to antidepressants with high versus low serotonergic activities.

Objective: 5-HT2C receptor antagonists are thought to contribute toward increased appetite and obesity. Aripiprazole acts as a partial agonist at the 5-HT2C receptor; hence, it is thought to cause little or no significant weight gain when used alone. We theorize that, in the presence of antidepressants with high serotonergic activity, aripiprazole acts as an antagonist at the 5-HT2C receptor, thus increasing the potential for weight gain.