Psychotic illness is characterized by delusion, hallucinations, thought disorder, social withdrawal and flattering of emotional response. Antipsychotics are a group of drugs used mainly for treating schizophrenia.
Antipsychotic agents are classified into typical neuroleptics (chlorpromazine, thioridazine, haloperidol, flupenthixol) and atypical neurolopitics (clozapine, sulpiride).
Most antipsychotic drugs are readily but incompletely absorbed. Many of these drugs undergo significant first-pass metabolism. Very little of any of these drugs is excreted unchanged, as they are almost completely metabolized to more polar substances.
The phenothiazine antipsychotic drugs, with chlorpromazine as the prototype, have a wide variety of central nervous system, autonomic, and endocrine effects. It blocks receptors including; dopamine and alpha-adrenoceptor, muscarinic, H1 histaminic, and serotonin (5-HT2) receptors. Of these, the dopamine receptor effects quickly became the major focus of interest.
Clinical uses
- Schizophrenia
- Mania
- Vomiting
Adverse Reactions
- Extrapyramidal reactions
- Seizures
- Autonomic nervous system effects (antimuscarinic effects, orthostatic hypotension)
- Metabolic and Endocrine Effects (weight gain, hyperprolactinemia, infertility, loss of libido and impotence)
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