BACKGROUND Antipsychotics are potent dopamine antagonists used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between antipsychotic drugs and adverse hyperglycemic events using the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database. In particular, we focused on adverse hyperglycemic events associated with atypical antipsychotic use, which ar...

OBJECTIVE Visual contrast detection has been reported in some studies to be normal in schizophrenia patients, but in other studies impairments have been reported. Because contrast detection in the visual processing system is mediated by dopamine, and because the pharmacotherapy of schizophrenia involves blocking dopamine postsynaptic receptor sites, the authors investigated the effects of dopam...

It is well known that abdominal obesity, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance are highly prevalent in patients receiving maintenance treatment with antipsychotics, but there is limited knowledge about the association between cardiovascular risk factors and treatment with antipsychotic drugs. In this naturalistic study we investigated a sample of 809 antipsychotic-treated patients from Swedish p...

This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of antipsychotic augmentation of serotonergic antidepressants in the management of treatment-resistant obsessive compulsive disorder by carrying out a meta-analysis of all randomized controlled trials. Studies selected through a literature search conducted in March 2006. Ten trials comparing antipsychotic drugs versus placebo met inclusion criteri...

The first generation of antipsychotic drugs was discovered in the 1960s and 1970s, These agents were effective in treating psychosis, but were accompanied by significant side effects, including severe parkinsonism and akathisia. Second-generation antipsychotics were introduced in the 1990s, These drugs have at least equal efficacy to their predecessors, but far fewer side effects. Some data sug...

BACKGROUND In our previous study, we had identified strong associations between dyslipidemia and acute-phase schizophrenia during the 3-week study period. In this study, we further investigated the correlations between weight changes and lipid changes during this short period in Taiwan. METHODS During a 1-year period, the data of age, body mass index, antipsychotic drugs and fasting blood sam...

Antagonism of prepulse inhibition (PPI) deficits produced by psychotomimetic drugs has been widely used as an effective tool for the study of the mechanisms of antipsychotic action and identifying potential antipsychotic drugs. Many studies have relied on the acute effect of a single administration of antipsychotics, whereas patients with schizophrenia are treated chronically with antipsychotic...

Atypical antipsychotic drugs, such as clozapine and risperidone, have a high affinity for the serotonin 5-HT(2A) G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), the 2AR, which signals via a G(q) heterotrimeric G protein. The closely related non-antipsychotic drugs, such as ritanserin and methysergide, also block 2AR function, but they lack comparable neuropsychological effects. Why some but not all 2AR inhi...

BACKGROUND Only three observational studies investigated whether exposure to antipsychotics is associated with an increased risk of pulmonary embolism, with conflicting results. This study was therefore carried out to establish the risk of pulmonary embolism associated with antipsychotic drugs, and to ascertain the risk associated with first- and second-generation antipsychotic drugs, and with ...

Objective Schizophrenia is a severe, debilitating mental disorder characterized by behavioral abnormalities. Although several studies have investigated the role of oxidative stress and the effects of antipsychotic drugs on oxidative markers in schizophrenia, adequate information is not available on these issues. The aim of this study is to determine the changes in oxidative status and thiol dis...