Pharmacology Report On Halooperidol

Antipsychotics are medications that physicians use to treat psychotic disorders such as Schizophrenia, Delusional disorder, Paraphrenia, and Substance-induced psychotic disorders. These disorders are characterised by the patient’s inability to make good judgments, think with a clear head, communicate effectively, relate to society, and understand reality. Antipsychotic drugs are also useful in the treatment of bipolar conditions that involve extreme cases of manic behaviour. Examples of these drugs include Thorazine and Trilafon. These drugs belong to a drug class called phenothiazines. They work by changing the actions of chemicals in the brain. The drugs can be beneficial, however, Steen et al. (2014) argue that the medicines have several harmful effects such as changes

The 1950s saw several developments in medications such as antipsychotics. The term antipsychotic refers to medicines or drugs that are primarily needed to manage psychosis. They are usually used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, though they can be helpful for other mental health problems such as severe depression. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a patient called Chief Bromden, describes his surroundings after taking medication. He said, “The words come to me like water, it’s so thick. In fact it’s so much like water it floats me right up out of my chair and I don’t know which end is up for a while. Floating makes me a little sick to the stomach at first. I can’t see a thing. I never had it so thick it floated me like this.” (Kesey 133) The quote gives an accuate picure of how an antipsychotic would work. Chlorpromazine, the first anitpsychotic, was synthesized in 1950 by the French pharmacuetical company Rhône-Poulenc. It was followed by the creation of many other drugs with diverse chemical structures. In 1954, another

In 1955, antipsychotic medications were introduced to help mental disorders. These medications are usually taken orally in which help relieve symptoms for periods of days. The misuse or abuse of the medications are low. There are three generations of antipsychotic medications. The first generation is known for reducing hallucinations and delusions, but not affecting problems like disorientation or depression. An example would be chlorpromazine, brand name being Thorazine. Some negative side effects of taking the first generation drugs are Parkinson’s-like symptoms, tardive dyskinesia, and weight gain. Next, the second generation drugs minimized the outcome of the individual getting Parkinson’s-like symptoms. An example of this generation would be Clozaril. “A unique feature of Clozaril is the 1 to 2 percent chance of developing a potentially lethal blood disease called agranulocytosis” (Levinthal 282). This disease decreases white blood cells and affects the immune system. If early signs of this disease start to appear the patient will stop taking Clozaril and recover. Lastly, the third generation has shown to be the most effective on schizophrenia. Abilify is an example of this generation drug. It does not have a risk of Parkinson’s, tardive dyskinesia, or diabetes. Abilify blocks specific serotonin receptors in which prevents negative side effects from happening. These different

A comparison between schizophrenia and bipolar spectrum disorder focusing on history, etiology, treatment, and symptoms of each disease will introduce the concept of the Continuum Disease Model (CDM) as a basis for further debate and discussion on the controversial designation of schizoaffective disorder (bipolar type/depressive type). The concept of a possible connection between distinct disorders is strongly disputed between many experts due to presence of manic or hypomanic episodes as a clear distinction requiring the designation of bipolar spectrum disorder as opposed to negative and positive schizophrenic symptoms; however, similarities in the disorders including etiology, presence of psychosis, and effectiveness of new atypical antipsychotic treatments may present similar neurological psychopathology. Schizoaffective disorder may present only unipolar depressive symptoms along with negative or positive schizophrenic symptoms but bipolar type will be the focus of discussion. An argument disputing the legitimacy of the CDM will be presented though the stress-diathesis model supports the designation of schizoaffective disorder in the newest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V). A deeper look at the mechanisms in the psychopharmacological drug treatments specifically focused on the atypical antipsychotics quetiapine (trade name Seroquel) and lurasidone (trade name Latuda), providing theories of their effects on brain

A good place to start is to gather information and formulate a working knowledge of antipsychotic drugs.

Diamond in chapters 4, 7 and 9, looks at antipsychotic medications, medications useful for anxiety disorders and sleep problems and medication for people with borderline personality disorder respectively. Antipsychotic medications are profiled as second generation or first generation. Among the identified second generation antipsychotic medications are clozapine, risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine, ziprasidone, aripiprazole and paliperidone. Clozapine is considered tpo be the most effective antipsychotic drug and has been proven effective as a mood stabilizer in treating “bipolar disorders that have not responded to mood stabilizers” (p. 72). Clozapine has side effects including those of weight gain, metabolic syndrome and increased risk

Newer treatments for schizophrenia symptom management focus on both the DA and the 5-HT systems in an attempt to alleviate positive, negative and cognitive symptoms (Leucht et al., 2009; Leucht, Wahlbeck, Hamann, & Kissling, 2003). The 5-HT hypothesis of schizophrenia arose from toxicologic explanations of mental illness that were popular in the 1950s (Osmond, 1958). Toxicologic explanations received their inspiration from the observation that exogenous substances could produce effects that resemble certain signs and symptoms of mental illness, such as hallucinations (Osmond, 1958). The 5-HT hypothesis arose based on the observation that hallucinogenic-effects, such as those seen with LSD administration, are mediated by 5-HT agonism, and hence, schizophrenia symptoms likely arise from a similar mechanism (Baumeister & Hawkins, 2004). However, in the 1970s, the 5-HT hypothesis of schizophrenia was almost completely replaced by the DA hypothesis, only making a comeback later with the proven effectiveness of the atypical antipsychotics, such as clozapine (Baumeister & Hawkins, 2004).

There is a logical comparison between seizure disorders and bipolar disorder that is thought to explain the effectiveness of anticonvulsants on both disorders. An interesting anticonvulsant effect can be observed with the administration of lomotrigine (trade name Lamictal) which has stabilizing effects for both depressive and manic states while also providing therapeutic effects on depression (Stahl, 2013. p. 373). Many anticonvulsants are much more effective in the treatment of epilepsy but select drugs can be effectively employed to balance the cycling or reduce the intensity and length of

The main criticism of an imbalance of neurotransmitters being the cause of schizophrenia is the finding that antipsychotics block receptors within a day or two, although it takes several weeks for them to take full affect (Wickens, 2005). This suggests that the key factor in improvement is not the

Schizophrenia is a life-long disorder that affects about one percent of the population (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). The cause of this mental illness is still unclear. Studies have suggested that Schizophrenia does not arise from one factor but from a combination of genetic, environmental, and social factors (Liddle, 1987). People diagnosed with Schizophrenia struggle to deal with a multitude of symptoms that make it difficult to function (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). Antipsychotic medications are a popular treatment of the symptoms of Schizophrenia (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). Research is constantly being done to develop these medications to enhance the quality of life of those diagnosed with Schizophrenia.

Haloperidol is a butyrophenone derivative with antipsychotic properties that has been considered especially compelling in the administration of hyperactivity, agitation, and mania. Haloperidol is a compelling neuroleptic furthermore has antiemetic properties; it has a marked tendency to provoke extrapyramidal impacts and has relatively weak alpha-adrenolytic properties. It might likewise show hypothermic and anorexiant impacts and potentiate the activity of barbiturates, general soporifics, and different CNS depressant medications.

Atypical antipsychotics (APDs) are the first line treatment for schizophrenia. But their mechanisms of action are not well understood. Studies have found that the APD quetiapine prevented the cortical OL demise resulting from cuprizone (CPZ) treatment in mice (Zhang et al., 2008) and facilitated OL lineage development in vitro (Zhang et al., 2008). In addition, neuroimaging studies showed that APD treatment resulted in increased myelination in patients with schizophrenia (Bartzokis et al., 2009). These studies suggest that APDs may exert their therapeutic effects by enhancing OL function and myelin integrity. The gap between in vitro and human neuroimaging studies emphasizes the importance of the development of an animal model to study the link between molecular and cellular changes and the pathological and behavioral outcomes after APD treatment.

Schizophrenia currently has no cure, but there are various treatments that can be utilized to manage its symptoms. The first step to adequately treating a schizophrenic patient is a correct diagnosis; inclusively Tsuang, Glatt, and Faraone (2011) suggest that, “Differential diagnoses are crucial in the treatment of patients with schizophrenia to rule out other conditions” (p. 13). After a conclusive diagnosis, treatment options are discussed and “neuroleptics are usually first choice for treatment” (Tsuang et al., 2011, p. 94).

The Dopamine Model (DM) has been around since the twentieth century (Preston, O’Neal and Talaga, 2017). The model believes that the cause of schizophrenia symptoms is from abnormal dopamine in the brain (Preston, et al., 2017). The premise is based off two observations. The first one is that antipsychotic drugs are able to bind and block the dopamine receptors (Preston, O’Neal, et al., 2017). The second observation is that the antipsychotic drugs increases dopamine which create paranoid schizophrenia symptoms (Preston, et al., 2017).

Psychoactive drugs affect the biochemical interactions that take place in and between neurons. Side effects of drugs are predominantly produced by their actions in the peripheral nervous system