Articles related to ANTIPSYCHOTICS

To sum up the reasons you should use caution: Quetiapine has a variety of effects, including sedation, influencing a number of central nervous system receptors. Quetiapine should only be used to treat insomnia in patients who also have co-occurring mood or schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Quetiapine is less frequently linked to extrapyramidal side effects and dystonia than many other antipsychotic medications, but it is more frequently linked to weight gain, metabolic syndrome, and QTc prolongation. Prior to beginning treatment and then on a frequent basis thereafter, measurements of body mass index, weight, blood pressure, fasting glucose, and lipid levels should be made, even at modest doses. Despite not producing euphoria, quetiapine is frequently misused to amplify or lessen the negative effects of illegal substances. For older patients, quetiapine has additional dangers.

For the treatment of psychosis in schizophrenia, may an oral molecule constitute a new class of psychotropic drug with a non-D2-receptor binding mode of action? The purpose of a recent study was to answer that question, which Dr. Matt Birnholz delves into in this audio abstract.

How do you decide between different atypicals for a patient who’s never been on an atypical before? What about carbamazepine and oxcarbazepine for bipolar disorder? Gregory Mattingly, MD, provides practical guidance on these questions posed at the Psych Congress Regional meeting.

This review of three recent publications in Schizophrenia Bulletin, Expert Opinion in Pharmacotherapy, and Frontiers in Psychiatry highlights some potential opportunity to change standard practice and improve patient outcomes. Emerging research indicates that once-daily dosing before bed is likely effective, reduces adverse effects, and boosts adherence. Furthermore, when switching agents, immediate discontinuation may be preferable, with no need to taper.

Gabapentin has been increasingly used as part of a multimodal analgesia regimen to reduce opioid use in perioperative pain management. In this cohort study of 237,872 adults aged 65 years or older, perioperative gabapentin users had significantly increased risk of delirium, new antipsychotic use, and pneumonia compared with nonusers after major surgery.

Despite having anti-psychotic, anxiolytic, sedative, and hypnotic properties, quetiapine is linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular death and sudden cardiac death when used in conventional doses. For the first time, the current investigation demonstrated that quetiapine taken off-label and in modest doses raises the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), stroke, and cardiovascular death.