Eli Lilly has agreed to pay up to $500 million to settle 18,000 lawsuits from people who claimed they had developed diabetes or other diseases after taking Zyprexa. The drug is intended to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Zyprexa is the brand name for olanzapine, a potent chemical that binds to receptors in the brain to reduce psychotic hallucinations and delusions. Clinical trials show that in many patients, Zyprexa also causes severe weight gain and increases in cholesterol and blood sugar. 16% of people taking Zyprexa gained more than 66 pounds after a year on the drug, a far higher figure than the company disclosed to doctors. In 2004, a panel of the American Diabetes Association found that Zyprexa caused diabetes more than other widely used antipsychotic drugs, in part because it tends to cause much more weight gain. In 2003, the FDA added a warning to the label of Zyprexa about its tendency to cause high blood sugar.

That's a shame. A drug used to treat mental illness characterized by significant social dysfunction actually causes severe weight gain, increases cholesterol and raises blood sugar. I see how Zyprexa works. It helps patients' delusions of being overweight and unhealthy a reality.