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July 20th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda FRIDAY, July 20 (HealthDay News) — Researchers have discovered
two genetic variants associated with substantial, rapid weight gain in
people taking antipsychotic medications.
The researchers said the findings could eventually be used by doctors
to identify which patients have the variations so they can be treated
without the risk of weight gain, which can lead to obesity and health
problems including diabetes and heart disease.
“Weight gain occurs in up to 40 percent of patients taking medications
called second-generation or atypical antipsychotics, which are used
because they’re effective in controlling the major symptoms of
schizophrenia,” Dr. James Kennedy, of the Center for Addiction and Mental
Health, in Toronto, said in a center news release.
Kennedy, senior author of a study published online recently in the
journal Archives of General Psychiatry, pinpointed a variation near
the melanocortin-4 receptor gene, which is known to be linked to
obesity.
The study of patients in Europe and the United States being treated
with atypical antipsychotics found that those with two copies of the
variant gained about three times as much weight as those with one or no
copies — about 13 pounds vs. 4 pounds.
“The weight gain was associated with this genetic variation in all
these groups, which included pediatric patients with severe behavior or
mood problems, and patients with schizophrenia experiencing a first
episode or who did not respond to other antipsychotic treatments,” Dr.
Daniel Muller, study co-author and Center for Addiction and Mental Health
scientist, said in the news release.
“The results from our genetic analysis combined with this diverse set
of patients provide compelling evidence for the role of this
[melanocortin-4 receptor] variant,” Muller said. “Our research group has
discovered other gene variants associated with antipsychotic-induced
weight gain in the past, but this one appears to be the most compelling
finding thus far.”
Kennedy and Muller also were involved in another study that identified
a different variation near the melanocortin-4 receptor gene that was
associated with weight gain in patients taking antipsychotic drugs. The
study was published earlier this year in The Pharmacogenomics
Journal.
Although the researchers found that the melanocortin-4 receptor gene
variant was associated with rapid weight gain, the study did not prove a
cause-and-effect relationship.
More information
The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health has more about mental-health medications.
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