Metformin for treatment of antipsychotic-induced weight gain: A randomized, placebo-controlled study
Schizophrenia Research, 03/12/2012

Wang M et al. – Metformin was effective and safe in attenuating antipsychotic–induced weight gain and insulin resistance in first–episode schizophrenia patients. Patients displayed good adherence to metformin.

• Seventy-two patients with first-episode schizophrenia who gained more than 7% of their predrug weight were randomly assigned to receive 1000mg/d of metformin or placebo in addition to their ongoing treatment for 12weeks using a double-blind study design.
• The primary outcome was change in body weight.
• The secondary outcomes included changes in body mass index, fasting glucose and insulin, and insulin resistance index.

• Of the 72 patients who were randomly assigned, 66 (91.6%) completed treatments.
• The body weight, body mass index, fasting insulin and insulin resistance index decreased significantly in the metformin group, but increased in the placebo group during the 12-week follow-up period.
• Significantly more patients in the metformin group lost their baseline weight by more than 7%, which was the cutoff for clinically meaningful weight loss.
• Metformin was tolerated well by majority patients.