Which of the following propeies distingiush Aripiprazole from atypical antipsychotics?
Aripiprazole is a potent 5-HT2A receptor antagonist like atypical antipsychotics. It is one of the newer drugs which belongs to a class of patial D2 receptor agonists. It is not D2 antagonists like other antipsychotics, which makes them an entirely different class. They are used in Schizophrenia and Acute mania. They have very low risk of extrapyramidal side effects, weight gain and diabetis. This are also a distinguishing factors from other Atypical Antipsychotics. Atypical antipsychotics are new generation anti-psychotics which are called serotonin-dopamine antagonists (SDA). These drugs include Olanzapine, Risperidone, Quetiapine, Clozapine and Ziprazidone. They have higher ratio of serotonin (5-HT2) receptor blockade compared to the higher dopamine receptor blockade in the old generation anti-psychotics like Haloperidol, Chlorpromazine, Zuclopenthixol etc. Atypical antipsychotics are a reduced risk for extra-pyramidal side effects (EPSEs) including tardive dyskinesia. Efficacy of the atypicals are proved in Schizophrenia and acute mania. Ref: Kaplan & Sadock's Synopsis of Psychiatry, By Benjamin J Sadock, M.D., Harold I. Kaplan, Virginia A Sadock, M.D, 10th Edition, Page : 1091
It is a potent 5-HT2A receptor antagonist
Reduced risk of extrapyramidal side effects
It can be used in Schizophrenia
It is not a D2 receptor antagonist