[Somatic side effects of psychopharmaceuticals]

Richard Schmidmeier1

  • 1Facharzt für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Nervenarzt am Bezirksklinikum Gabersee Wasserburg am Inn. schmidmeier.richard@gabersee.de

Summary

General practitioners frequently prescribe psychopharmaceutic drugs like antidepressants and antipsychotics. Physicians must understand potential somatic side effects, especially with neuroleptics, and consider therapeutic drug monitoring.

Related Concept Videos

Antipsychotic Drugs: Therapeutic Uses and Side Effects01:21

Antipsychotic Drugs: Therapeutic Uses and Side Effects

Antipsychotic drugs primarily block dopamine and serotonin receptors and cholinergic, adrenergic, and histaminergic receptors, thereby reducing hallucinations and delusions in conditions like schizophrenia. However, they can trigger unwanted extrapyramidal effects such as dystonias, Parkinson-like symptoms, and tardive dyskinesia.
Despite these side effects, antipsychotics are used therapeutically for various purposes, including managing schizophrenia, preventing nausea and vomiting, curbing...
Skeletal Muscle Relaxants: Adverse Effects01:21

Skeletal Muscle Relaxants: Adverse Effects

Skeletal muscle relaxants are widely used for muscle paralysis and relieving pain following any muscle injury or stiffness. However, depending on the drug type, they can have adverse effects that range from mild to severe. Usually, nondepolarizing neuromuscular blockers have minimal side effects. For example, drugs like d-tubocurarine, cisatracurium, and rocuronium cause hypotension, whereas drugs like baclofen, when stopped abruptly, can lead to the recurrence of spastic conditions.
Unlike...
Sedatives and Hypnotics Drugs: Miscellaneous Agents01:17

Sedatives and Hypnotics Drugs: Miscellaneous Agents

Sedatives and hypnotics encompass a wide range of substances, each with its unique mechanism of action, uses, and potential adverse effects.
Melatonin congeners like ramelteon (Rozerem) and tasimelteon (Hetlioz) selectively bind to melatonin receptors (MT1 and MT2) and thus mimic the actions of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep-wake cycles. Tasimelteon is primarily used for non-24-hour sleep-wake disorder, common in blind patients. They are also used to treat conditions like insomnia...
Effects of Chemicals: Overview01:27

Effects of Chemicals: Overview

Drugs, encompassing various chemical compounds from natural sources, lab synthesis, or genetic engineering, elicit different biological responses in living organisms. Some of these responses are desirable or therapeutic, while others are undesirable. The primary goal of administering a drug is to achieve a therapeutic effect, that is, to address a specific disease or health condition. Any concurrent effects outside of this therapeutic outcome are considered undesirable. These undesirable...
Psychosis and Antipsychotic Drugs: Overview01:28

Psychosis and Antipsychotic Drugs: Overview

The term "psychosis" refers to a spectrum of mental disorders characterized by abnormal thoughts, perceptions, and behaviors. It can manifest as mood disorders, dementia, delirium with psychotic features, substance-induced psychosis with psychotic features, brief psychotic disorder, delusional disorder, schizoaffective disorder, and schizophrenia. Among all these disorders, schizophrenia is the most common psychotic disorder, affecting 1% of the worldwide population. Psychotic symptoms in all...
Toxidromes: Clinical Features01:30

Toxidromes: Clinical Features

Toxidromes are specific patterns of symptoms resulting from toxic substance exposure. They help in the identification and treatment of poisoning. The symptoms of each toxidrome group indicate poisoning by a certain class of chemicals or drugs.1. Sympathomimetic: Stimulates the sympathetic nervous system. Symptoms include agitation, increased heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), respiratory rate (RR), temperature, and pupil size. Drugs like cocaine and amphetamines, along with tremors and...