The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) subtype of glutamate receptor mediates fast excitatory neurotransmission, and agents that attenuate this function are neuroprotective, anesthetic, and psychotropic. To determine whether cAMP regulatable transcription factors play a role in the neurochemical actions of agents acting through NMDA receptors, the effects of the acute administration of uncompetitive a...

OBJECTIVES Little information exists on national trends in the use of psychotropic medication by children and adolescents. The objective of this report is to compare patterns and predictors of psychotropic medication use by children and adolescents in the United States in 1987 and 1996. METHOD An analysis of medication use data is presented from two nationally representative surveys of the ge...

BACKGROUND The prime age of onset for schizophrenia in women is during the childbearing years from ages 25-35. 50-60% of these women will become pregnant; fifty percent of these pregnancies will be unplanned or unwanted. Discontinuation of medication will likely lead to a relapse of the illness during pregnancy or postpartum. Although research on the safety of psychotropic medication during pre...

A series of amino derivatives of 10-(diphenylmethylene)-4-azatricyclo[5.2.1.0(2.6)]dec-8-ene-3,5-dione, analogues of chlorpromazine and aminoperazine have been prepared. These compounds are expected to have antipsychotic and/or anti HIV activity. Molecular structure of III was confirmed by an X-ray structure analysis. The cytotoxicity and anti HIV activity of derivatives I-IV were determined.

Rodent models of clinical depression are extensively used for the evaluation of putative antidepressants. In the present review, the available experimental methods which can be utilized by most laboratories involved in preclinical screening of antidepressants, have been discussed. The methods have been categorized on the basis of induction of the depressive state or on the assumption that monoa...

In the last decades accumulating evidence suggested the influence of genetic factors on antipsychotic treatment. It has been shown that drug dosage, treatment response, and occurrence of adverse effects are associated with large interindividual variability. According to statistical data, most drugs are effective for about 30% to 60% of patients and nearly 10% receive serious adverse effects aft...

All therapeutic interventions are double-edged swords with benefits and adverse effects, and pharmacotherapy is not an exception. Shortly after the introduction of conventional antipsychotic drugs into clinical practice, relatively rare but serious complications with hyperthermia, muscle rigidity, autonomic instability, and disturbed mental status were recognized to develop in some patients tre...

BACKGROUND Previous studies suggest that psychotropic drug changes may signal an acute period of time whereby a person is highly vulnerable to fall. It is unknown whether certain classes of psychotropic agents are less safe with respect to the acute risk of falls. Our purpose was to compare fall rates in the 7 days following a change of an antidepressant, antipsychotic, or benzodiazepine. We al...