Gut Microbiota and Antipsychotics Induced Metabolic Alteration

Abstract

Schizophrenia is a chronic and severe mental disorder with antipsychotics as primary medications, but the antipsychotic-induced metabolic side effects may contribute to the elevated risk of overall morbidity and mortality in patients with psych-iatric diseases. With the development in sequencing technology and bioinformatics, dysbiosis has been shown to contribute to body weight gain and metabolic dysfunction. However, the role of gut microbiota in the antipsychotic-induced metabolic alteration remains unknown. In this paper, we reviewed the recent studies of the gut microbiota with psychiatric disorders and antipsychotic-induced metabolic dysfunction. Patients with neuropsychiatric disorders may have a different composi-tion of gut microbiota compared with healthy controls. In addition, it seems that the use of antipsychotics is concurrently associated with both altered composition of gut microbiota and metabolic disturbance. Further study is needed to address the role of gut microbiota in the development of neuropsychiatric disorders and antipsychotic-induced metabolic disturbance, to develop novel therapeutics for both neuropsychiatric disorders and metabolic dysfunction.