OBJECTIVE This study examined the association between the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) (Val66Met) polymorphism and the response to the addition of an atypical antipsychotic drug to a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) or serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) in treatment-refractory depression. METHODS The study enrolled 64 patients meeting the Diagnostic an...

BACKGROUND Second-generation antipsychotic medications, or "atypical antipsychotics," are now first-line therapy in the treatment of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, and are additionally being used in a wide array of other psychiatric and non-psychiatric conditions in both adults and children. Overdose is frequently reported to poison control centers. OBJECTIVES We review the toxi...

Atypical antipsychotic medications have assumed growing importance for the treatment of bipolar disorder, an illness that affects approximately 1.2%-3.7% of the general population in a given year. Current practice guidelines for the treatment of bipolar mania support the use of atypical antipsychotic medications as monotherapy or as a component of polytherapy, and in clinical settings the use o...

AIM To outline the prescribing patterns of atypical antipsychotics for adult mental health outpatients in Auckland and Northland in 2004. METHODS All community files were reviewed retrospectively (n = 6165). Patient characteristics, diagnosis, and antipsychotic and concurrent medication were recorded and analysed. RESULTS Overall, 71.3% of outpatients were prescribed an antipsychotic, of wh...

The present study aimed to assess the neurocognitive effects of atypical and conventional antipsychotic drugs on neurocognition under naturalistic treatment conditions. Eighty-two patients with schizophrenia underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment both at baseline during inpatient treatment and 6 months after discharge from hospital (follow-up). From this sample, we selected two...

OBJECTIVE To review the efficacy of placebo in comparison with atypical and typical antipsychotics for the treatment of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder and to evaluate the pertinence of using placebo in clinical trials with antipsychotics. METHOD Trials in which the atypical antipsychotics were compared with typical antipsychotics and placebo were included. A search was conducted u...

OBJECTIVE In the light of the recent finding that the atypical antipsychotics clozapine and olanzapine have a stimulatory effect on basal insulin release in vitro, the influence on insulin release of three other atypical agents; quetiapine, risperidone and ziprasidone, was examined. METHODS The effect of each atypical antipsychotic in a concentration of 10(-6) M was investigated on both basal...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate patterns of antipsychotic use. DESIGN, SETTING, AND MEASUREMENTS: We used nationally representative data from the IMS Health National Disease and Therapeutic Index to describe outpatient antipsychotic use. The primary outcome was the volume of visits where antipsychotics were used for specific indications (treatment visits). We also quantified use without U.S. Food and Dru...

BACKGROUND Antipsychotic use is associated with serious adverse events in the elderly, and consequently can lead to further healthcare utilization such as nursing home admission. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the risk of nursing home admission associated with typical versus atypical antipsychotic use among the US community-dwelling elderly population. METHODS A retrospective cohort design was condu...

T spectives on this issue tend to define this term differently. To a pharmacologist, it can mean “serotonin-2A (5-HT2A)–dopamine-2 (D2) antagonist” or “multiple simultaneous neurotransmitter binding activities.” To a prescriber, it can mean “low extrapyramidal symptoms” or “reduction of negative symptoms.” To a marketeer, it may mean “new and different.” To a formulary committee with a short-te...