Clozapine induced severe weight loss in resistant schizophrenia managed with risperidone add-on therapy

Abstract

Clozapine is prescribed for resistant schizophrenia. It is usually associated with weight gain. There have been only a few reports of weight loss associated with clozapine treatment and we report two patients from Sri Lanka. The first patient lost 27% of bodyweight on clozapine while the second lost 17%. Both were clinically stable on clozapine, with marked reduction of psychotic symptoms. Adding risperidone helped to regain the lost weight in the described patients.

Keywords

• clozapine, weight, schizophrenia, sri lanka