Reproductive safety of aripiprazole: data from the Massachusetts General Hospital National Pregnancy Registry for Atypical Antipsychotics

Effect of aripiprazole on neural tube development in early chick embryos

INTRODUCTION

Aripiprazole (ARI) is a recently developed antipsychotic medication that belongs to the second generation of antipsychotics. The literature has contradictory information regarding ARI, which has been classified as pregnant use category C by the FDA.

METHODS

125 pathogen-free fertilized eggs were incubated for 28 h and divided into five groups of 25 eggs each (including the control group), and 18 eggs with intact integrity were selected from each group. After the experimental groups were divided, ARI was administered subblastodermally with a Hamilton micro-injector at 4 different doses (1 mg/kg, 5 mg/kg, 10 mg/kg, 20 mg/kg). At the 48th hour of incubation, all eggs were hatched and embryos were removed from the embryonic membranes. And then morphologic (position of the neural tube (open or closed), crown-rump length, number of somites, embryological development status), histopathologic (apoptosis (caspase 3), cell proliferation (PCNA), in situ recognition of DNA breaks (tunnel)), genetic (BRE gene expression) analyzes were performed.

RESULTS

According to the results of the morphological analysis, when the frequency of neural tube patency was evaluated among the experimental groups, a statistically significant difference was determined between the control group and all groups (p < 0.001). In addition, the mean crown-rump length and somite number of the embryos decreased in a dose-dependent manner compared to the control group. It was determined that mRNA levels of the BRE gene decreased in embryos exposed to ARI compared to the control group (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Morphologically, histopathologically, and genetically, aripiprazole exposure delayed neurogenesis and development in early chick embryos. These findings suggest its use in pregnant women may be teratogenic. We note that these results are preliminary for pregnant women, but they should be expanded and studied with additional and other samples.

Prophylactic Management of Women With Bipolar Disorder During Pregnancy and the Perinatal Period: Clinical Scenario-Based Practical Recommendations From A Group of Perinatal Psychiatry Authors

ABSTRACT

Many women with bipolar disorder experience episodes of illness or relapses over the perinatal period, especially in the immediate postpartum period. Risks associated with treated/untreated psychopathologies and fetal exposure to bipolar medications make the management of bipolar disorder during these periods challenging for clinicians and patients. In light of the available effectiveness and reproductive safety data, the current clinical update based on the opinions of a group of international perinatal psychiatry authors recommends general considerations and specific management strategies for each possible clinical scenario, including mixed features, predominant polarity, diagnosis of subtypes of bipolar disorder, severity of previous episodes, and risk of recurrence of mood episodes.

Risk of Major Malformations Following First-Trimester Exposure to Olanzapine: Preliminary Data From the Massachusetts General Hospital National Pregnancy Registry for Psychiatric Medications

PURPOSE/BACKGROUND

Since its US Food and Drug Administration approval in 1996, olanzapine has been one of the most commonly prescribed atypical antipsychotics, making a better understanding of its reproductive safety profile critical. The goal of the current analysis was to determine the risk of major malformations among infants exposed to olanzapine during pregnancy compared with a group of nonexposed infants.

METHODS/PROCEDURES

The National Pregnancy Registry for Psychiatric Medications is a prospective pharmacovigilance program in which pregnant women are enrolled and interviewed during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Labor and delivery and pediatric medical records were screened for evidence of major malformations followed by adjudication by a dysmorphologist blinded to medication exposure. Infants with first-trimester exposure to olanzapine were compared with controls without second-generation antipsychotic exposure.

FINDINGS/RESULTS

As of April 18, 2022, 2619 women have enrolled in the study. At the time of data extraction, 49 olanzapine-exposed infants and 1156 infants in the comparison group were eligible for these analyses. There were no major malformations associated with olanzapine exposure in the first trimester. The absolute risk for major malformations in the exposure group was 0.00% (95% confidence interval, 0.00-7.25) for olanzapine compared with 1.64% (95% confidence interval, 0.99-2.55) in the control group.

IMPLICATIONS/CONCLUSIONS

In this prospective cohort, no major malformations were associated with olanzapine exposure during the first trimester. Although these data are preliminary and cannot rule out more modest effects, they are nonetheless important, adding to the growing reproductive safety data for olanzapine.

Association of In Utero Antipsychotic Medication Exposure With Risk of Congenital Malformations in Nordic Countries and the US

Importance

Psychiatric disorders are common among female individuals of reproductive age. While antipsychotic medication use is increasing, the safety of such medications in pregnancy is an area with large evidence gaps.

Objective

To evaluate the risk of first-trimester antipsychotic exposure with respect to congenital malformations, focusing on individual drugs and specific malformation subtypes.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This cohort study used data from nationwide health registers from the 5 Nordic countries and the US and spanned 1996 to 2018. The Nordic cohort included all pregnancies resulting in singleton live-born infants, and the US cohort consisted of publicly insured mothers linked to their live-born infants nested in the nationwide Medicaid Analytic eXtract. Data were analyzed from November 2020 to April 2022.

Exposures

One or more first-trimester dispensing of any atypical, any typical, and individual antipsychotic drugs.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Any major congenital malformation and specific malformation subtypes previously suggested to be associated with antipsychotic exposure in utero: cardiovascular malformations, oral clefts, neural tube defects, hip dysplasia, limb reduction defects, anorectal atresia/stenosis, gastroschisis, hydrocephalus, other specific brain anomalies, and esophageal disorders. Propensity score stratification was used to control for potential confounders. Pooled adjusted estimates were calculated using indirect standardization.

Results

A total of 6 455 324 unexposed mothers (mean maternal age range across countries: 24-31 years), 21 751 mothers exposed to atypical antipsychotic drugs (mean age range, 26-31 years), and 6371 mothers exposed to typical antipsychotic drugs (mean age range, 27-32 years) were included in the study cohort. Prevalence of any major malformation was 2.7% (95% CI, 2.7%-2.8%) in unexposed infants, 4.3% (95% CI, 4.1%-4.6%) in infants with atypical antipsychotic drug exposure, and 3.1% (95% CI, 2.7%-3.5%) in infants with typical antipsychotic drug exposure in utero. Among the most prevalent exposure-outcome combinations, adjusted relative risks (aRR) were generally close to the null. One exception was olanzapine exposure and oral cleft (aRR, 2.1 [95% CI, 1.1-4.3]); however, estimates varied across sensitivity analyses. Among moderately prevalent combinations, increased risks were observed for gastroschisis and other specific brain anomalies after atypical antipsychotic exposure (aRR, 1.5 [95% CI, 0.8-2.6] and 1.9 [95% CI, 1.1-3.0]) and for cardiac malformations after chlorprothixene exposure (aRR, 1.6 [95% CI, 1.0-2.7]). While the association direction was consistent across sensitivity analyses, confidence intervals were wide, prohibiting firm conclusions.

Conclusions and Relevance

In this study, considering the evidence from primary and sensitivity analyses and inevitable statistical noise for very rare exposure-outcome combinations, in utero antipsychotic exposure generally was not meaningfully associated with an increased risk of malformations. The observed increased risks of oral clefts associated with olanzapine, gastroschisis, and other specific brain anomalies with atypical antipsychotics and cardiac malformations with chlorprothixene requires confirmation as evidence continues to accumulate.

Reproductive Safety of Lurasidone and Quetiapine: Update from the National Pregnancy Registry for Psychiatric Medications

Background: Second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs), also called atypical antipsychotics, are common therapies for women with a spectrum of psychiatric disorders. No systematically ascertained human reproductive safety data are available for lurasidone, and prospective data for quetiapine are limited, making decisions regarding use of these medications during pregnancy complicated. Materials and Methods: The National Pregnancy Registry for Psychiatric Medications is a prospective cohort study designed to collect reproductive safety data relative to SGAs. Pregnant women aged 18-45 years, with psychiatric illness and prenatal psychotropic medication exposure completed three phone interviews during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Cases of presumed malformations are abstracted from medical records for adjudication by a teratologist blinded to medication exposure. Results: Of 2,293 women enrolled at the time of analysis, 134 in the lurasidone group, 264 in the quetiapine group, and 886 controls completed the postpartum interview and were therefore eligible for inclusion. Dropped or lost-to-follow-up participants (13%) and those currently pregnant were excluded. Participants were predominantly White, college-educated, and married (lurasidone = 88.1%, 76.9%, 77.6%; quetiapine = 89.8%, 71.2%, 75.0%; controls = 92.7%, 86.7%, 89.1%). Absolute risks of major malformations were 2.19% (lurasidone), 1.85% (quetiapine), and 1.77% (controls). Odds ratios comparing lurasidone and quetiapine with controls were 1.24 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.36-4.32) and 1.04 (95% CI = 0.38-2.85), respectively. Conclusions: No specific patterns of malformations were observed in infants exposed to the medications of interest. Lurasidone and quetiapine did not appear to be major teratogens, but further information is needed to refine risk estimates. Food and Drug Administration guidance underscores the importance of pregnancy registries. Clinical trial number: NCT01246765.

Risk of major malformations in infants after first-trimester exposure to benzodiazepines: Results from the Massachusetts General Hospital National Pregnancy Registry for Psychiatric Medications

BACKGROUND

Perinatal anxiety affects 20% of women, and untreated maternal mental illness can cause deleterious effects for women and their children. Benzodiazepines are commonly used to treat anxiety disorders. The reported risk of congenital malformations after in utero benzodiazepine exposure has been inconsistent.

METHODS

The Massachusetts General Hospital National Pregnancy Registry for Psychiatric Medications prospectively enrolls pregnant women with psychiatric illness who take one or more psychiatric medications. Participants are interviewed twice during pregnancy and at 12 weeks postpartum. Women taking any benzodiazepine during the first trimester of pregnancy were compared with a group of women taking psychiatric medication(s) other than benzodiazepines during pregnancy.

RESULTS

A total of 1053 women were eligible for this analysis; N = 151 women who had taken a benzodiazepine during the first trimester, and the comparison group was N = 902 women. There were 5 (3.21%) major malformations in the exposure group and 32 (3.46%) in the comparison group (odds ratio 0.92; 95% confidence interval 0.35-2.41).

CONCLUSION

This ongoing pregnancy registry offers reassurance that benzodiazepines do not appear to have major teratogenic effects. The precision of relative risk estimate will improve as the number of participants increases. This and other pregnancy registries will better inform the reproductive safety of benzodiazepines.

Treating Bipolar Disorder in Primary Care: Diagnosis, Pharmacology, and Management

Bipolar disorder is a chronic mental illness associated with early mortality, elevated risk of comorbid cardiovascular disease, enormous burden of disability, and large societal costs. Patients often seek treatment for symptoms of bipolar disorder in the primary care setting but are frequently misdiagnosed. This article provides primary care providers with an evidence-based approach to the screening, diagnosis, and pharmacological management of bipolar disorder. Guidance is also provided for helping patients connect with higher levels of specialty psychiatric care when clinically indicated.

Place of the partial dopamine receptor agonist aripiprazole in the management of schizophrenia in adults: a Delphi consensus study

BACKGROUND

Aripiprazole is a second-generation antipsychotic, efficacious in patients with schizophrenia during acute episodes. Due to its pharmacological profile, aripiprazole may be of interest in patients with specific clinical profiles who have not been studied extensively in randomised clinical trials.

OBJECTIVES

To capture experience with aripiprazole in everyday psychiatric practice using the Delphi method in order to inform decision-making on the use of aripiprazole for the treatment of patients with schizophrenia in clinical situations where robust evidence from clinical trials is lacking.

METHODS

The scope of the survey was defined as the management of schizophrenia in adults. A systematic literature review was performed to identify the different clinical situations in which aripiprazole has been studied, and to describe the level of clinical evidence. Clinical profiles to include in the Delphi survey were selected if there was a clear interest in terms of medical need but uncertainty over the efficacy of aripiprazole. For each clinical profile retained, five to seven specific statements were generated and included in a questionnaire. The final 41-item questionnaire was proposed to a panel of 406 French psychiatrists with experience in the treatment of schizophrenia. Panellists rated their level of agreement using a Likert scale. A second round of voting on eleven items was organised to clarify points for which a consensus was not obtained in the first round.

RESULTS

Five clinical profiles were identified in the literature review (persistent negative symptoms, pregnancy, cognitive dysfunction, addictive comorbidity and clozapine resistance). Sixty-two psychiatrists participated in the first round of the Delphi survey and 33 in the second round. A consensus was obtained for 11 out of 41 items in the first round and for 9/11 items in the second round. According to the panellists' clinical experience, aripiprazole can be used as maintenance treatment for pregnant women, is relevant to preserve cognitive function and can be considered an option in patients with a comorbid addictive disorder or with persistent negative symptoms.

CONCLUSION

These findings may help physicians in choosing relevant ways to use aripiprazole and highlight areas where more research is needed to widen the evidence base.