Ziprasidone: pharmacology, clinical progress and therapeutic promise

Choosing among the atypical antipsychotics currently available for the treatment of schizophrenia requires the clinician to evaluate the relative merits of each agent. Ziprasidone is another atypical antipsychotic, currently under consideration for approval to use in clinical practice, whose role is at present unclear. Based upon the information reviewed here, ziprasidone is an agent which possesses the preclinical and clinical attributes which characterize an "atypical" antipsychotic and is an effective antipsychotic medication for the treatment of psychosis. Ziprasidone appears to discriminate from other atypical antipsychotics by its low propensity for weight gain and by the availability of a short-acting intramuscular formulation. Its role in clinical practice will be determined by clinician experience and by additional phase IV clinical trials.