Role of ascorbic acid supplementation on prevention of olanzapine induced metabolic side effects in schizophrenic patients

Schizophrenia is one of the most debilitating disorders with devastating effects on its victims and their families. Atypical antipsychotics (AAPs) because of their superior efficacy, reduced side effects, & better compliance, have rapidly become the mainstay of treatment. However, these AAPs have unique side effect profile like weight gain, hyperglycemia, and hyperlipidemia. Although preliminary data suggest benefit of vitamin C in improving the lipid and glucose dysregulation, whether vitamin C as an antioxidant has any effect on improving drug induced metabolic derangements has not been clarified yet. Therefore, this prospective clinical trial has been carried out to determine the impact of vitamin C as an antioxidant in modifying these parameters in schizophrenic patients. Among 30 newly diagnosed DSM-IV patients of schizophrenia enrolled, mean body weight, BMI, blood sugar, and lipid profile were significantly increased from baseline to 6 and 12 weeks after treatment with olanzapine(p <0.001). However, there were no statistically significant differences in these parameters between patients who received only olanzapine and those who received both olanzapine and vitamin C. Thus, vitamin C as an antioxidant does not modify the metabolic side effect profile of olanzapine.