Updated guidance urgently needed for antipsychotic drug clozapine
(World News Science)

Tuesday, 20 June 2017 11:04am Dr Susanna Every-Palmer Drug-safety regulators and manufacturers need to take urgent action over serious adverse effects of the valuable antipsychotic drug clozapine, a new study shows. Clozapine, one of the main treatments for schizophrenia, works better than any other medication for about one-third of people, and is the `gold-standard` for treatment-resistant schizophrenia. However, this study shows that some of its side effects are under-recognised. It causes gastrointestinal hypomotility or `slow-gut`, which may result in severe constipation, bowel obstruction, or - as has been the case for more than a dozen New Zealanders - a fatal outcome. Researchers from...