Pharmacopsychiatry 2003; 36 - 242
DOI: 10.1055/s-2003-825485

Gender effects in olanzapine metabolism

P Sand 1, M Dobmeier 1, P Eichhammer 1, G Hajak 1, P Dallinger 1, E Haen 1
  • 1Dept. of Psychiatry, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany

Adverse drug reactions in women appear to occur at a higher rate in both hospital and community settings. Among the mechanisms which may account for the increased toxicity and adverse drug reactions in women, pharmacogenetic factors play an important role. Therapeutic drug monitoring of olanzapine has revealed tendencies for higher concentrations in women suggesting that metabolism of the drug may be gender-specific. Cytochrome P450 CYPIA2 is involved in the breakdown of olanzapine (Rao et al., 2001) and has been shown to exhibit a sexual dimorphism (Ou-Yang et al., 2000). We investigated CYP1A2 variants in a naturalistic study of schizophrenic inpatients who underwent therapeutic drug monitoring for olanzapine. Clinical implications for this antipsychotic compound are discussed.

Ou-Yang DS, Huang SL, Wang W, Xie HG, Xu ZH, Shu Y, Zhou HH. Phenotypic polymorphism and gender-related differences of CYP1A2 activity in a Chinese population. Br J Clin Pharmacol (2000) 49:145–51.

Rao ML, Hiemke C, Grasmader K, Baumann P. [Olanzapine: pharmacology, pharmacokinetics and therapeutic drug monitoring] Fortschr Neurol Psychiatr (2001) 69:510–517