Clinical pharmacology of antipsychotic drugs

Antipsychotic drugs are widely used to treat abnormal behaviour particularly that related to the functional psychoses such as schizophrenia. This review discusses the pharmacokinetics and pharmacology of antipsychotic drugs like chlorpromazine. Clinical use comprises the induction of tranquillization in disturbed psychiatric patients, the treatment of acute and chronic schizophrenic symptoms, and the postponement of relapse in such patients. Unwanted effects are multifarious, involving many systems of the body. Extrapyramidal signs and symptoms are particularly noticeable, and the chronic type, tardive dyskinesia, is a major problem.