These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: The influence of clozapine treatment on plasma granulocyte colony-stimulating (G-CSF) levels.
    Author: Pollmächer T, Fenzel T, Mullington J, Hinze-Selch D.
    Journal: Pharmacopsychiatry; 1997 Jul; 30(4):118-21. PubMed ID: 9271776.
    Abstract:
    The antipsychotic drug clozapine frequently induces transient increases in white blood cell counts that have been found to be sensitive, but non-specific, predictors of subsequent life-threatening agranulocytosis. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) is an endogenous hematopoietic growth factor that plays a pivotal role in granulopoiesis. In addition, G-CSF has successfully been used to treat clozapine-induced agranulocytosis. We performed a longitudinal investigation of the plasma levels of G-CSF in 20 schizophrenic patients during six weeks of clozapine treatment. Clozapine transiently increased plasma G-CSF levels in 55% of the subjects studied. This effect was most prominent at the end of the second week of treatment. Increased G-CSF levels were accompanied by increased granulocyte and monocyte counts, increased rectal temperature and increased plasma levels of other cytokines and cytokine receptors. The results presented suggest that G-CSF is involved in clozapine-induced increases in granulocyte counts seen early during treatment. Like granulocytosis, granulocytopenia is known to occur in conjunction with increased systemic G-CSF levels. Therefore, we hypothesize that a persistent increase along with a decline in white cell counts following an early spike during clozapine treatment might predict the occurrence of agranulocytosis.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]