Wrestler's Death Highlights the Risk of Seroquel Side Effects

Queens, NYChristopher Klucsarits, a former WWE and WCW wrestler who performed under the name Chris Kanyon, passed away late last week from an apparently intentional overdose of antidepressant medications, including Seroquel, according to a report from Prowrestling.net. While the exact cause of death has yet to be determined, the situation highlights some of the potential risks of Seroquel side effects.

span itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="display:block">Seroquel, an antipsychotic medication, is typically prescribed to treat schizophrenia and acute manic behavior in bipolar patients. The drug has come under fire in recent years due to a number of side effects, including hyperglycemia, an advanced risk of diabetes, neuroleptic malignant syndrome and birth defects.

Since 2005 the medication has also carried a black box warning alerting patients to the risk of sudden death related to psychosis and behavioral problems among those with dementia.

While Klucsarits was never officially diagnosed with dementia, Barry Petchesky notes on Deadspin.com that the wrestler had long suffered from mental problems.

"From the statements of his co-workers, it's clear that Kanyon had dealt with depression for a long time, and even talked of suicide - as recently as last week," wrote Petchesky.