Drug Injury

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Seroquel®

Do not discontinue taking any medications without first consulting your physician.

Seroquel® Dangers
Seroquel (quetiapine) is a pharmaceutical drug in the class of atypical antipsychotics approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1997. Antipsychotic drugs are used to treat symptoms of schizophrenia which include hearing voices, seeing things, sensing things that are not there, mistaken beliefs, and paranoia (1). Seroquel is also used in the treatment of mania associated with bipolar disorder.

In January of 2004, four different organizations issued a warning regarding a study which linked six different atypical antipsychotic drugs to diabetes, obesity, and high cholesterol, which can raise a person’s risk of heart disease. The medical societies, which included the American Diabetes Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the North American Association for the Study of Obesity, and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, suggested that doctors closely monitor their patients after treatment is started for signs of adverse side effects (2).

Update 1/16/09: Bloomberg.com reports Seroquel raised the risk of developing diabetes by 400% when compared with other, earlier generation antipsychotic medications, according to a doctor’s testimony in court against the manufacturer. The doctor testified that, “Seroquel is a substantial factor in diabetes and weight gain.”

Seroquel is also under advisory for its link to an increased chance of death in elderly patients taking the drug for the off-label treatment of dementia. In April 2005 the FDA issued a warning for atypical antipsychotic drugs (including Seroquel) which stated, the “FDA has found that older patients treated with atypical antipsychotics for dementia had a higher chance for death than patients who did not take the medicine (1).”

Update 3/3/09: According to a report in The New York Times, internal documents from the manufacturer of Seroquel have revealed the drug maker tried to hide and downplay the link between Seroquel and diabetes for nearly 10 years.

One e-mail from a company official praised a paid physician for her “great smoke and mirrors job” in which the risks of Seroquel were significantly downplayed in her report. Another e-mail from the drug company's publications manager asks how the company can diminish the negative findings of the studies that show Seroquel to be dangerous.

What are the risks?
Seroquel can cause serious health problems such as:

• Hyperglycemia and Diabetes: Extreme events of hyperglycemia and ketoacidosis (a serious condition that can lead to coma or death) have been reported in patients taking atypical antipsychotics, including Seroquel.

• Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (NMS): A potentially fatal nervous system disorder that causes high fever, stiff muscles, sweating, fast or irregular heartbeat, change in blood pressure, and confusion. NMS can also affect your kidneys. NMS is considered to be a medical emergency; call a doctor immediately if you experience the symptoms.

• Tardive Dyskinesia (TD): Tardive dyskinesia is a syndrome affecting the central nervous system. TD is characterized by involuntary muscle contractions which force parts of the body into abnormal and sometimes painful movements or postures. TD is primarily characterized by random movements in the tongue, lips, or jaw as well as facial grimacing, movements of the arms, legs, fingers and toes, or even swaying movements of the trunk or hips (3).

• Other serious side effects: Seroquel may also cause low blood pressure, dizziness, increased heartbeat and fainting, cataracts, seizures, low thyroid, elevated cholesterol or triglycerides, liver problems, persistent erection, changes in body temperature, and difficulty swallowing. Common side effects include headache, dry mouth, agitation, constipation, pain, vomiting, upset stomach, and weight gain (1).

What should I do if I am taking Seroquel?
Never stop taking any medication without first consulting your doctor. If you or someone you care about has taken or is taking Seroquel and has experienced significant weight gain, tardive dsykinesia, diabetes, ketoacidosis, or developed neuroleptic malignant syndrome, call a Seroquel lawyer at our firm today for a free and confidential case evaluation.

1. Patient  Information Sheet Quetiapine Tablets (marketed as Seroquel) from the Food and Drug Administration accessed on 11/17/05.
2. Risks of Anti-Psychotic Drugs Eyed from The Associated Press on CBS News accessed on 11/21/05.
3. Tardive Syndromes from the University of Kansas Medical Center – Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorder Center accessed on 08/18/05.

Seroquel® is a registered trademark of the AstraZeneca group of companies and is used here only to identify the product in question.

This law firm is not associated with, sponsored by, or affiliated with AstraZeneca or any of its companies, the Food and Drug Administration, The Associated Press, CBS News, or the University of Kansas Medical Center.

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