Atypical neuroleptics/antipsychotics efficacy

The main indications for atypical antipsychotics are the acute and maintenance treatment of schizophrenic disorders, with an emphasis on the treatment of refractory and chronic disorders. However, because of the lower risk of EPS and in particular of tardive dyskinesia, there is a tendency toward a wider range of indications for some of the atypical neuroleptics. Favorable effects in drug-induced psychoses have been demonstrated for olanzapine. Clozapine seems effective in the treatment and relapse prevention of manic episodes and bipolar disorders, and risperidone has been shown to have good efficacy in conduct disorders and in the pervasive developmental disorders. 

Despite the efficacy of the typical neuroleptics such as chlorpromazine and haloperidol in treating the acute symptoms of schizophrenia, their side effects and failure to treat the negative symptoms emphasized the need to develop atypical antipsychotics. The desirable features of a new antipsychotic are shown in Table 11.5. 

Neuroleptics are the drugs of choice in the treatment of tic disorders but they should only be considered in situations where the life of the child is seriously affected and when behavioural treatments have failed. Of the classical neuroleptics which have been used, haloperidol and pimozide have shown success but so far there have been no adequately controlled trials of any neuroleptic to objectively validate their efficacy. It would appear that only low doses of haloperidol are necessary (2-3mg/day) to obtain a significant reduction in tic frequency. It would seem reasonable to consider the use of the atypical antipsychotics for these disorders but, to date, there is no evidence of their efficacy in children. Recently there have been studies in which clonidine was used in the effective treatment of motor tics. The side effects are similar to those seen in the adult and include sedation, headache, irritability and sinus bradycardia. 

Clozapine (Clozaril), a 5-HT2A/2c-receptor antagonist, represents a class of atypical antipsychotic drugs with reduced incidence of extrapyramidal side effects compared to the classical neuroleptics, and possibly a greater efficacy for reducing negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Clozapine also has a high affinity for subtypes of dopamine receptors. 

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