Typical
Antipsychotic (Wiki)
Also
referred to as a Standard Antipsychotics
Also referred to as a Conventional Antipsychotics
Also referred to as a Conventional Neuroleptics
Also referred to as a Major
Tranquilisers
Please note:
Dosage equivalents are provided for certain drugs below and
are denoted as unit equivalents, i.e. one unit of drug x is
roughly the equivalent as one unit of drug y, where the
dosage equal to one unit varies.
Typical antipsychotics, drugs first marketed in the 1950s,
represented somewhat of a revolution in the
treatment of psychotic illnesses. Unfortunately, although the
drugs are generally effective, they do tend
to cause side effects, some of which can be quite
serious. Parkinson like symptoms, especially unwanted movements, are
quite common and are often treated with
anti-parkinson drugs such as procyclidine.
Rather more seriously, there is a risk of a condition known
as tardive dyskinesia which can prove to be
chronic, even after discontinuation of
the antipsychotic in general. Currently, there are no
specific treatments available, although there are a few
possibilities in the works. There is also a slight
chance of a potentially fatal side effect known as Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome
(NMS) which
demands an immediate cessation of the specific
antipsychotic treatment.
Generally speaking, the newer atypical antipsychotics
are less effective in
treating psychosis, but also tend to cause less
side effects.
Typical antipsychotics are split into three main
groups: Phenothiazines, Butyrophenones and miscellaneous.