objective: the lithium concentration in the plasma is assumed to give someindication as to the concentration of this ion in different organ cells especially incentral nervous system. while the practical value of intracellular lithium measurement is controversial however, erythrocytes have proved to be useful for studying lithium concentration and its transport across the membrane. there are som...

To test if antipsychotic medication treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with mild hallucinations and retained insight delays deterioration to delusions or hallucinations without insight. We identified subjects at the time they developed their first hallucination, based on documented progression in their UPDRS thought disorder (TD) score from <2 to 2 ("benign" hallucinations with insi...

Atypical antipsychotic drugs, which are distinguished from typical antipsychotic drugs by a lower incidence of extra-pyramidal side effects and less propensity to elevate serum prolactin levels (e.g., clozapine, olanzapine, risperidone, quetiapine, ziprasidone), have become the most widely used treatments for schizophrenia, although their precise mechanism of action remains controversial. It ha...

&#x0D; For antipsychotic-related sexual dysfunction, 1 guideline recommends switching to aripiprazole or another non-hyperprolactinemic antipsychotic as the first option. Alternatively, adjunctive treatment with aripiprazole, antipsychotics that have less impact on function. Another adding estrogen testosterone medication assist dysfunction in women.&#x0D; antidepressant-related agomelatine a n...

Antipsychotic drugs at noncataleptic doses selectively suppress conditioned avoidance response in rats. In our previous study, we had used a two-way active avoidance response paradigm to show that the antipsychotic-induced interoceptive state is one of the mechanisms underlying the avoidance-disruptive effect of antipsychotics. In this study, we sought to further examine this mechanism using a ...

Antipsychotic utilization in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) is a major focus of regulatory compliance and key theme resident care. This created opportunities for innovations clinical care behavioral psychological symptoms dementia (BPSD). In shared initiative with one our SNF operators, the authors implemented joint clinician/facility program focused on rigorous diagnosis “best practices” ca...

BACKGROUND Although many studies have reported that glucose and lipid metabolism disorders are a significant side effect associated with the use of antipsychotic drugs, the characteristics of glucose and lipid metabolism disorders in patients with schizophrenia who are taking antipsychotic drugs remain poorly understood, and the possible effects that antipsychotic discontinuation may have on gl...

At the end of this article, readers should be able to: 1. Describe the reasons for switching an antipsychotic. 2. Assess the optimum time to switch. 3. Recognize the best ways to switch. The need to switch from one antipsychotic drug to another is a frequent challenge in the long-term management of patients with schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders, even when an antipsychotic that is e...

BACKGROUND Antipsychotic medications are widely used to treat behavioral symptoms of dementia. However, studies have shown that antipsychotic use in patients with dementia is associated with risk of side effects. AIMS The aim of this study is to examine antipsychotic prescribing patterns for beneficiaries with dementia enrolled in a Medicare Advantage program and identify opportunities to imp...

Clozapine is the prototype atypical antipsychotic drug, producing little or no extrapyramidal side effects, while improving negative symptoms of psychosis. Clozapine's high affinity for serotonin receptors has been hypothesized to confer the unique antipsychotic properties of this drug. Recently, we demonstrated that both typical and atypical antipsychotic drugs are inverse agonists at constitu...