Immunomodulatory effects of clozapine and their clinical implications: What have we learned so far
Schizophrenia Research, 07/27/2012
Clinical Article
Roge R et al. – To what degree the unique antipsychotic efficacy of clozapine in subgroups of schizophrenia patients is related to its immunomodulatory effects has not been studied. Research relating the immunomodulatory actions of clozapine and its early markers to clinically relevant adverse and therapeutic outcomes is hoped to provide new leads for the understanding of the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and aid the development of novel treatment targets.
- Several studies confirm the immunomodulatory actions of clozapine, but only few studies investigated their relationship to the unique adverse and therapeutic effects of clozapine.
- During the first month of clozapine treatment, up to 50% of patients develop fever and flu like symptoms, which is seemingly driven by increased cytokines.
- Within the same time period, the risk of side-effects with a suspected immunological mechanism peaks.
- Patients developing fever during the first weeks of treatment should have a thorough physical examination, and measurements of white blood cell count, absolute neutrophil count, ECG, C-reactive protein, creatinine kinase, and troponin to exclude infection, agranulocytosis, myocarditis and neuroleptic malignant syndrome.
