Research

Hormonal

GLP-1 receptor agonists (exenatide, liraglutide) are effective for weight loss in patients with schizophrenia who are gaining weight due to antipsychotic medications (clozapine/olanzapine).

For patients with schizophrenia taking clozapine or olanzapine who experience significant weight gain, GLP-1 agonists (exenatide or liraglutide) are a promising treatment option. They effectively reduce weight gain (avg 3.71 kg difference) without interacting with the antipsychotic medications, avoiding the need to change psychiatric treatment.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
From the data analysis, it is concluded that the use of GLP-1 treatment for weight control in patients with schizophrenia using clozapine or olanzapine is very promising. The mean weight loss between the intervention and control groups was 3.71 kg less for the intervention groups.
Giulia Biagi Furlan et al. · International Journal of Nutrology · 2023

Why this rating

Based on a small number of studies (3 studies cited) with varying designs (blinded, open-label).

Source

Use of GLP-1 analogs in the treatment of obesity: an integrative and systematic review

Giulia Biagi Furlan et al. · International Journal of Nutrology · 2023

DOI 10.54448/ijn23105

Meta-analysis · 40 studiesCited 2×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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