Articles related to ANTIPSYCHOTICS

When atypical AMD is suspected, additional multimodal imaging and a more detailed medical history are required to establish the correct diagnosis. The medical history, clinical examination, and retinal imaging findings of a 69-year-old White man with a long-standing medical history of schizophrenia, bilateral visual decline, nyctalopia, and blurred vision were sufficient evidence for the doctors to establish a presumed diagnosis of thioridazine retinal toxicity. Although it is a rare diagnosis due to the introduction of newer medications, patients with an underlying psychiatric history and atypical retinal findings on examination may have been or are currently taking the culprit psychotropic medication.

Lumateperone 42 mg/d is effective in the treatment of schizophrenia and has no clinically significant effects on body weight, metabolic variables, motor function, the ECG QT interval, or prolactin levels, with a likelihood to be helped or harmed (LHH) much greater than 1 when comparing therapeutic response to these tolerability/safety outcomes. When comparing therapeutic response versus a somnolence/sedation AE, lumateperone appears to be associated with somnolence/sedation, and LHH approaches 1. In indirect comparisons with other antipsychotics, this somnolence/sedation AE profile is not dissimilar; however, the absence of weight gain, glucose/lipid abnormalities, and akathisia, as well as the absence of prolactin elevations, distinguishes lumateperone.

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.