Gentle brain ultrasound may help ease delusions in schizophrenia - Medical Xpress

Treatment with glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1s) was associated with lower risks of psychiatric hospitalization and psychiatric emergency department visits in people with both schizophrenia and type 2 diabetes (T2D), compared with no GLP-1 treatment or treatment with newer diabetes medications, according to new research published in The Lancet Psychiatry. Schizophrenia is associated with an increased risk of T2D, and antipsychotic medications prescribed for schizophrenia also increase the risk of T2D.

The study, published Wednesday, was the first to link powerful obesity and diabetes medicine with a reduced likelihood of schizophrenia hospitalization, Bloomberg reported. One of the authors of the study hypothesized that better metabolic health might support “psychiatric stability.” People with schizophrenia who were also taking GLP-1 drugs for diabetes had fewer psychiatric relapses in a large study of US health records, indicating another potential benefit from the medicines. The patients on GLP-1s were 24% less likely to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital than people not taking the drugs, researchers said, and 29% less likely to go to the emergency room for a mental health crisis. They were also less likely to be admitted than those who took other types of diabetes medicine, according to the study published Wednesday in the Lancet Psychiatry journal. (Kresge, 10/14)