Haldol schizophrenia

Whatever the underlying causes may be, neuroleptic medications are the most effective treatment for schizophrenia. All antipsychotic medications have some form of dopamine receptor antagonism and they are distinguished by their chemical class. The phenothiazines include chlorpromazine (Thorazine), thioridazine (Mellaril), mesoridazine (Serentil), trifluoperazine (Stelazine), fluphenazine (Prolixin), and prochlorperazine (Compazine). The thioxanthenes include chlorprohixine (Taractan) and thiothixene (Navane). Butyrophenones are represented by haloperidol (Haldol). Loxapine (Loxitane) is a dibenzoxapine, and molindone (Moban) is a dihydroindolone. 

Along with over-the-counter health products such as Band-Aids, Lis-terine, Motrin, Nicoderm, Pepcid AC, Rogaine, Rolaids, Sudafed, Tylenol, and Visine, the company sells prescription drugs such as Haldol for schizophrenia, Topamax for epilepsy, Remicade for a variety of immune system diseases, and Zyrtec for allergies. 

Brief History. R.F., a 63-year-old woman, has been receiving treatment for schizophrenia intermittently for many years. She was last hospitalized for an acute episode 7 months ago and has since been on a maintenance dosage of haloperi-dol (Haldol), 25 mg/d. She is also being seen as an outpatient for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in both hands. Her current treatment consists of gentle heat and active range-of-motion exercises, three times each week. She is being considered for possible metacarpophalangeal joint replacement. 

As a comparison, haloperidol (Haldol) is generally considered to be among the most potent neuroleptics and the most likely to cause extra-pyramidal reactions. In a double-blind study of first-episode patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, the subjects were randomly assigned to take 1, 2, 3, or 5 mg/day (Kapur et al., 2000). If the patients did not respond to the lower doses, they were raised to the limit of 5 mg/day. These are relatively small doses. The recommended initial dose for moderate symptoms or geriatric or debilitated patients is 1-6 mg/day (Drug Facts and Comparisons, 2007). For severe or chronic patients, it is 6-15 mg/day, with higher doses for prompt control. 

Haloperidol (brand name Haldol) A high-potency antipsychotic drug used for the treatment of schizophrenia that can also be used to treat the neurological condition of Tourette s syndrome, which involves both motor and vocal tics. 

Among the first antipsychotic drugs for the treatment of schizophrenia was halo-peridol (Haldol), a competitive inhibitor of dopamine receptor sites in the central nervous system. 

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