Why is abilify different

It is available as an oral tablet in strengths of 20 mg, 40 mg, 60 mg, 80 mg, and mg. Latuda reaches maximum levels in the body within one to three hours. Latuda is usually started at 20 or 40 mg per day depending on the condition being treated, and it should be taken with food for better absorption. Abilify is available as an oral tablet in strengths of 2 mg, 5 mg, 10 mg, 15 mg, 20 mg, and 30 mg. It also comes as an orally disintegrating tablet, oral solution, and injection.

Abilify oral tablets reach peak levels in the body within three to five hours after administration, and they can be taken with or without food. Latuda is used to treat schizophrenia in adults and children who are aged 13 years and older. It is also approved to treat depressive episodes associated with bipolar I disorder in adults and children who are aged 10 years and older. Abilify is also used to treat schizophrenia in adults and children who are aged 13 years and older.

However, unlike Latuda, it is approved to treat mixed or manic episodes associated with bipolar I disorder in adults and children aged 10 years and older.

When given with additional antidepressant therapy, Abilify can treat major depressive disorder MDD. Abilify injections are FDA approved to treat symptoms of agitation from schizophrenia and bipolar mania.

Latuda and Abilify are both effective medications for treating schizophrenia, a serious mental illness. The best treatment will depend on factors such as the condition being treated, potential side effects, and cost. One meta-analysis compared antipsychotics such as lurasidone, olanzapine, quetiapine, risperidone, and paliperidone.

Researchers found that lurasidone was comparable to other antipsychotics for treating schizophrenia. However, lurasidone was found to have less weight gain and a lower risk of other side effects compared to other atypical antipsychotics. Another meta-analysis from the World Journal of Biological Psychiatry compared lurasidone to other antipsychotics for treating bipolar depression.

Over 10 different clinical trials with over 6, patients were evaluated in the analysis. Antipsychotics, such as lurasidone, quetiapine, aripiprazole, olanzapine, and ziprasidone, were compared in regard to safety and effectiveness. The study concluded that lurasidone may be more effective than aripiprazole and ziprasidone, and it may cause less weight gain and drowsiness than other antipsychotics. The FDA has approved a generic version of Latuda.

However, the generic version may or may not be currently available on the market. As a brand-name drug, Latuda can be expensive even with insurance. Medicare and insurance plans will usually cover Latuda, although copays may vary across different plans. Abilify is available as a generic and brand-name medication. Most Medicare and insurance plans will cover Abilify.

Compared to Latuda, Abilify may be a cheaper treatment option. The most common side effects of Latuda include drowsiness, restlessness or an urge to move around akathisia , nausea, and vomiting. Other side effects of Latuda may include muscle stiffness, tremors, and weight gain. The most common side effects of Abilify include nausea, vomiting, sedation or drowsiness, dizziness, constipation, headache, blurred vision, akathisia, and insomnia.

Other side effects of Abilify include muscle stiffness and weight gain. Both Latuda and Abilify can cause high blood sugar and cholesterol levels in the blood. Serious side effects of Latuda and Abilify may include low white blood cell counts, seizures, decreased blood pressure orthostatic hypotension , and uncontrolled body movements tardive dyskinesia. This may not be a complete list of adverse effects that can occur. There is no difference in effectiveness between aripiprazole and risperidone Risperdal ; however, aripiprazole may be associated with less dystonia, smaller increases in prolactin, and less QTc prolongation, but more frequent tremor than risperidone.

Haloperidol formerly Haldol and chlorpromazine are effective first-generation medications for schizophrenia treatment. However, they have adverse effects such as movement disorders, sedation, anticholinergic effects, QTc prolongation, hyperprolactinemia, and metabolic syndrome. The trials ranged from four to 26 weeks in duration. The authors attempted an intention-to-treat analysis, but, overall, the discontinuation rate in the studies was high 38 percent , limiting the validity of the results.

There was no significant difference between aripiprazole and olanzapine for extrapyramidal adverse effects e. There was a statistically significant difference in weight change that favored aripiprazole in one of the studies. In a separate Cochrane review of its treatment for schizophrenia, 3 aripiprazole did not cause significant weight gain when compared with placebo.

More participants in the risperidone group had prolactin increases compared with the aripiprazole group. The American Psychiatric Association does not recommend one specific medication for the treatment of schizophrenia, but does recommend using the lowest effective dosage while monitoring adverse effects, especially those that may threaten patient compliance.

Already a member or subscriber? Log in. Interested in AAFP membership? Learn more. Aripiprazole versus other atypical antipsychotics for schizophrenia. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. Muench J, Hamer AM. Adverse effects of antipsychotic medications. A dopamine partial agonist is a molecule that binds to the receptor and partially activates it. Think about it as a key that sorts of fit in the lock so that the door can be wriggled about but not completely open.

The effect of a dopamine partial agonist is less than the full effect of dopamine but more than a complete lack of effect, which is what happens when a receptor is completely blocked. In other words, a partial effect. This partial effect means that when there is too much dopamine around aripiprazole a dopamine partial agonist by taking the dopamine space on the receptors and activating them only partially will actually take down the effect of the excess dopamine.

It also means that in situations when there is too little dopamine around to activate all the available receptors aripiprazole will actually bind to unoccupied receptors and its effect, even if only partial, is now added to the dopamine effect in the synapse for a net increase of the dopaminergic effect of a dopamine-deprived synapse.

To summarize, aripiprazole, as a dopamine partial agonist, acts as a modulator of dopamine effects. When present, it diminishes the effects of both dopamine excess by decreasing dopamine action when there is too much of it and deficit by increasing dopamine action when there is too little of it. Learn the best ways to manage stress and negativity in your life. Carlsson A, Carlsson ML. A dopaminergic deficit hypothesis of schizophrenia: the path to discovery.

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