Adenylate cyclase (EC 4.6.1.1), selectively stimulated by low concentrations of dopamine, has been found in the olfactory tubercle, the nucleus accumbens, and the caudate nucleus of several mammalian species. Several different classes of drugs effective in the treatment of schizophrenia (antipsychotic drugs) were potent inhibitors of the stimulation by dopamine of the enzyme from these various ...

Dopamine receptor agonist and NMDA receptor antagonist activation of the mesolimbic dopamine system increases locomotion and disrupts prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle response (PPI), paradigms frequently used to study both the pharmacology of antipsychotic drugs and drugs of abuse. In rats, virally mediated overexpression of the neurotensin 1 (NT1) receptor in the nucleus accumbens a...

BACKGROUND Antipsychotics have been linked to prolongation of the QT interval. However, little is known about the risk of ventricular arrhythmia (VA) and/or sudden cardiac death (SCD) associated with individual antipsychotic drug use. This study was designed to investigate the association between specific antipsychotic drugs and the risk of VA and/or SCD. METHODS AND RESULTS We conducted a ca...

Antipsychotic drugs are tranquilizing psychiatric medications primarily used in the treatment of schizophrenia and similar severe mental disorders. So far, most of these drugs have been discovered without knowing much on the molecular mechanisms of their actions. The available large amount of pharmacogenetics, pharmacometabolomics, and pharmacoproteomics data for many drugs makes it possible to...

OBJECTIVE Although the standard of treatment for schizophrenia is antipsychotic monotherapy, overall psychotropic polypharmacy including antipsychotic polypharmacy is increasingly practiced by clinicians. However, there are very few studies that assess the prescription patterns of psychotropic drugs for patients with schizophrenia in Korea. The objective of this study is to describe changes in ...

Currently available antipsychotic drugs target dopaminergic neurotransmission. Many patients do not respond fully to these treatments, and there has been considerable effort to investigate alternative targets. Here we summarise the rationale and recent evidence supporting efforts to develop glutamatergic antipsychotic drugs.

Sudden cardiac death, which is defined as death from a cardiac cause within a short time (minutes to hours) after symptoms initially appear, often without warning, is a major public health problem, accounting for about 10% of all natural deaths and over 50% of all coronary mortality. Most individuals who die a sudden cardiac death have no history of heart disease. Patients with schizophrenia ha...

BACKGROUND The symptoms and signs of schizophrenia have been firmly linked to high levels of dopamine in specific areas of the brain (limbic system). Antipsychotic drugs block the transmission of dopamine in the brain and reduce the acute symptoms of the disorder. This review examined whether antipsychotic drugs are also effective for relapse prevention. OBJECTIVES To review the effects of ma...