New Coating Can Prevent Weight Gain from Antipsychotic Drugs

Weight gain is sometimes a side effect of anti-depressants and antipsychotics. As such, many patients stop taking their medications. But thanks to a new coating, all that is about to change.

Researchers from the University of South Australia have been working on coating antipsychotics to prevent weight gain while boosting serotonin levels. The coatings are strategically engineered to target the gut microbiome to improve drug absorption.

How does it work?

Well, antipsychotic drugs are thought to disrupt gut microbiome health. The gut microbiome is involved with your metabolism and overall health. When disrupted, this ecosystem of microbes living in your intestine can no longer properly regulate metabolism. The result is often weight gain.

The coating the researchers designed works to reverse that disruption.

With a healthy gut microbiome, the drugs can work effectively without causing weight gain.

This is a major breakthrough.

Although the researchers tested the coating on lurasidone, an antipsychotic for treating schizophrenia and bipolar depression, the same results are expected for other antipsychotics.

It's not about manufacturing new drugs. It's simply about covering them with this innovative coating.

This is good news for anyone scared of seeking treatment because of the potential weight gain.

As soon as these drugs are available to the general public, it will be one step to curbing the global mental illness pandemic.

But even as we wait for that…

We Can Help

At Hope Mental Health, we understand the concerns you may have about weight gain from antidepressants and anti-psychotics. So, we often prescribe using metformin alongside your psychiatric medication. Metformin reduces blood sugar levels and induces insulin production, thus preventing weight gain.

Physical activity and diet choices can also help prevent weight gain from anti-psychotics.

Whatever your mental health concern is, contact us today let’s give you the help you need.

Author

Satu H. Woodland, PMHCNS-BC, APRN Satu Woodland is owner and clinician of Hope Mental Health, an integrative mental health practice located at Bown Crossing in Boise, Idaho. She sees children, adolescents, and adults.  Ms. Woodland with her background in nursing, prefers a holistic and integrative approach to mental health care that addresses the mind and body together. While Ms. Woodland provides medication management services in all her patients, she believes in long-lasting solutions that include a number of psychotherapies, namely cognitive behavioral therapy, exposure and response prevention therapy, attention to lifestyle, evidenced based alternative psychiatric care and spirituality. If you’d like to gain control over your mental health issues, call Hope Mental Health at 208-918-0958, or use the online scheduling tool to set up an initial consultation.