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Safety and tolerability: how do newer generation "atypical" antipsychotics compare?
1University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0120, USA. rtandon@umich.edu
The Psychiatric Quarterly
|November 7, 2002
Summary
Newer antipsychotic drugs offer significant advantages over older ones by minimizing extrapyramidal side effects (EPS). This EPS advantage leads to improved clinical outcomes and fewer long-term risks like tardive dyskinesia.
Area of Science:
- Pharmacology
- Clinical Psychiatry
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Conventional antipsychotics often caused extrapyramidal side effects (EPS) at effective doses.
- Atypical antipsychotics are defined by their reduced EPS at therapeutic doses.
- The EPS advantage is central to the clinical benefits of atypical antipsychotics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the clinical benefits of atypical antipsychotics.
- To discuss differences in the realization of the EPS advantage among atypical agents.
- To analyze side effect profiles of available atypical antipsychotics.
Main Methods:
- Review of pharmacological differences between atypical antipsychotics.
- Analysis of clinical implications of varying side effect profiles.
- Comparison of clozapine, risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine, and ziprasidone.
Main Results:
- All atypical antipsychotics offer an EPS advantage over conventional agents.
- Differences exist in how consistently and easily this EPS advantage is achieved.
- Variations in side effect profiles (weight gain, sedation, etc.) impact clinical utility.
Conclusions:
- The EPS advantage is a key differentiator for atypical antipsychotics.
- Pharmacological distinctions among atypical agents lead to diverse side effect profiles.
- Understanding these differences is crucial for optimizing patient treatment with atypical antipsychotics.