Antipsychotics - Drugs Used in Psychiatry

Drugs Used in Psychiatry

The principal drugs used in psychiatry comprise those indi-cated for the treatment of anxiety, psychosis, depression, and mania. Anti-anxiety drugs include benzodiazepines, barbiturates,meprobamate, and buspirone, all of which have been discussed in preceding sections.

ANTIPSYCHOTICS

Most antipsychotics used today induce sedation as well as suppress extrapyramidal movement disorders encompassing spontaneous and complex patterns of behaviour. They are also referred to as major tranquillisers or classical neuroleptics. Many of these drugs act as dopamine receptor antagonists, though a few of them do not (e.g. clozapine).

Phenothiazines

·              Aliphatic : chlorpromazine, triflupromazine.

·              Piperazine : trifluoperazine, prochlorperazine, perphen-azine, fluphenazine.

·              Piperidine : thioridazine, mesoridazine.

Thioxanthines

·              Chlorprothixene, clopenthixol, flupenthixol, pifluthixol, thiothixene, zuclopenthixol.

Butyrophenones

·              Droperidol, haloperidol, benperidol.

·               Indoles Molindone.

Dibenzoxapines

·              Clothiapine, metiapine, zotapine, loxapine, amoxapine.

Diphenylbutylpiperidines

·              Pimozide, fluspirilene, penfluridol.

Dibenzodiazepines

·              Clozapine, fluperlapine, olanzapine.

Benzisoxazoles Risperidone.

·              The toxicity of all classical neuroleptic drugs will be discussed together, while a few other antipsychotics which possess a slightly different toxicological profile will be discussed sepa-rately.