Posted by zeugma on November 29, 2004, at 19:28:25
In reply to Re: Clozapine » zeugma, posted by lostforwards on November 29, 2004, at 19:11:59
> I've heard of it reversing TD but how does it do it? What makes it so different from the other APs? Is there something special about the way it blocks dopamine receptors?
I don't know. It is powerfully anti-muscarinic which is an action of many anti-Parkinsonian drugs- in fact the anti-muscarinic Cogentin is often given for the EPS of older typical AP's. As far as I know, Abilify is the only AP that is a partial agonist at D2 receptors- the others are full antagonists. There is something special about clozapine and the drug companies have been trying to figure this one out for decades. The atypical AP's such as Zyprexa are all attempts to reproduce the therapeutic effects of clozapine without the hematologic complications. But I don't think any of them have been useful in reversing TD, so there's some factor that the chemists have been missing. Clozapine seems like one of those lucky accidents that turn out to be more powerful than the compounds formed in its wake- sort of like the SSRI's are generally weaker AD's than the TCA's and MAOI's (though Lilly etc. will dispute this, of course!).
poster:zeugma
thread:421832
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041128/msgs/421999.html