Atypical Antipsychotics to Treat Depression?

According to a study led by St. Paul’s Metropolitan State University Department of Psychology’s Associate Professor Glen Spielmans, Ph.D., adding an atypical antipsychotic to the medication regiment for patients with depression may produce a small improvement in symptoms; however, this small improvement is not worth the adverse effects that come with them.[1]

Antipsychotics: Benefit Small

Spielmans and colleagues analyzed 14 randomized controlled trials in which antipsychotics were used to treat depression compared with a placebo.¹ All of the trials showed that the antipsychotics had very small effects on depression remission, and in fact, did not provide a benefit regarding daily functioning and quality of life.¹

Adverse Effects Associated with Antipsychotics

The antipsychotic trials came with their fair share of adverse effects, commonly including weight gain, akathisia, sedation, and abnormal metabolic laboratory panels.¹ According to Spielmans, the long-term effects of these medicines are unknown and, therefore, should not be used to treat depression.¹ Clinicians should be extremely careful when prescribing these medicines in persons with depression.¹