Aripiprazole in schizotypal personality disorder: a case report.

Sir: Schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) is characterized by odd, eccentric behavior; inappropriate or constricted affect; odd beliefs or magical thinking; circumstantial, metaphorical, or stereotyped thinking manifested by odd speech; anxiety in social situations; and cognitive or perceptual distortions. Studies have been conducted on the efficacy of haloperidol, thiothixene, olanzapine, and risperidone in SPD. However, efficacy of aripiprazole in SPD has not been reported. Aripiprazole is a novel antipsychotic with a unique mechanism of action. It is a partial agonist of D2 and D3 dopamine receptors and 5-HT1A serotonin receptors, which are, respectively, responsible for its efficacy on positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia and its antidepressant and antianxiety actions. Hence, it is called a dopamine-serotonin system stabilizer. Aripiprazole has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the treatment of schizophrenia. A search of English-language publications in PubMed using the keywords schizotypal personality disorder and aripiprazole retrieved no published reports or articles. Herein, we describe a patient with SPD of 5 years’ illness duration who had never been treated with any medications and who responded to treatment with aripiprazole.