Effects of subchronic clozapine administration on serum glucose, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and body weight in male BALB/c mice

Atypical antipsychotics, like clozapine, have fewer extrapyramidal side effects compared with typical antipsychotics, however, such treatment is associated with several adverse metabolic effects such as weight gain, hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia in patients with schizophrenia. In this study, we investigated the effects of 30-day clozapine treatment on weight change, and serum fasting glucose, cholesterol and triglyceride levels in male BALB/c mice. The results demonstrate that 10.0 mg/kg clozapine group gained significantly less weight but had higher cholesterol compared with controls and the 2.0 mg/kg clozapine group. Our findings indicate the possibility of using mice to study the mechanisms of body weight change and lipid dysregulations induced by clozapine.