Clozapine: Diabetes Mellitus, Weight Gain, and Lipid Abnormalities

Clozapine remains the most effective agent for treatment-resistant patients with schizophrenia.Recently, treatment with clozapine has been linked to a number of metabolic disturbances, includingweight gain, diabetes mellitus, and serum lipid abnormalities. Despite the potential risks of medicalmorbidities, clozapine continues to have a major role in the care of treatment-resistant patients withschizophrenia. This article discusses the diagnosis and significance of the above metabolic abnormalitiesand potential mechanisms for these abnormalities as well as recommendations for monitoring andtreatment.