Butyrophenones Health Dictionary

A group of drugs used to treat psychoses (mental disorders involving loss of contact with reality), particularly schizophrenia and mania in bipolar disorder (see manic– depressive illness). Antipsychotic drugs may also be used to sedate people who have other mental disorders (such as dementia) and who are very agitated or aggressive. Antipsychotics include phenothiazine drugs, butyrophenones, such as haloperidol, and several new drugs including risperidone, which is used to treat the symptoms of mania.

Antipsychotics can cause drowsiness, lethargy, dyskinesia, and parkinsonism.

Other possible side effects include dry mouth, blurred vision, and difficulty in passing urine. However, newer drugs may have fewer side effects when used in the long term.... antipsychotic drugs

n. any one of a group of drugs used to treat severe mental disorders (psychoses), including schizophrenia and mania; some are administered in small doses to relieve anxiety and tic disorders or to treat impulsivity in *emotionally unstable personality disorder. Formerly called major tranquillizers, and later typical and atypical antipsychotics, they are now known as first- and second-generation antipsychotics. The first-generation (or typical) antipsychotics include the *phenothiazines (e.g. *chlorpromazine), *butyrophenones (e.g. *haloperidol), and thioxanthenes (e.g. *flupentixol). Side-effects of antipsychotic drugs can include *extrapyramidal effects, sedation, *antimuscarinic effects, weight gain, and *long QT syndrome. The second-generation (or atypical) antipsychotics are a group of more recently developed drugs that are in theory associated with fewer extrapyramidal effects than first-generation antipsychotics: they include *clozapine, *risperidone, amisulpride, aripiprazole, olanzapine, and quetiapine. Antipsychotics act on various neurotransmitter receptors in the brain, including dopamine, histamine, serotonin, and cholinergic receptors. Most of them block neurotransmitter activity, but some have partially agonistic effects. Recent evidence suggests that there are significant differences among the second-generation antipsychotics regarding their efficacy and side-effect profiles. Clozapine, amisulpride, and olanzapine were found to be the most effective antipsychotics. Clozapine, zotepine, and olanzapine caused the most weight gain; haloperidol, zotepine, and chlorpromazine caused the most extrapyramidal side-effects; sertindole, amisulpride, and ziprasidone caused the most QT-prolongation; and clozapine, zotepine, and chlorpromazine caused the most sedation.... antipsychotic

n. one of a group of chemically related *antipsychotic drugs that includes *haloperidol and *benperidol. Butyrophenones inhibit the effects of *dopamine by occupying dopamine receptor sites in the body.... butyrophenone

n. a *catecholamine derived from dopa that functions as a *neurotransmitter, acting on specific dopamine receptors and also on adrenoceptors throughout the body, especially in the *limbic system and *extrapyramidal system of the brain as well as the arteries and the heart. It also stimulates the release of noradrenaline from nerve endings. The effects vary with location and concentration. Dopamine is used in carefully controlled dosage to increase the strength of contraction of the heart in heart failure, shock, severe trauma, and septicaemia. Possible side-effects include unduly rapid or irregular heartbeat, nausea, vomiting, breathlessness, angina pectoris, and kidney damage.

Certain drugs (dopamine receptor agonists) have an effect on the body similar to that of dopamine. They include *apomorphine, *pergolide, *ropinirole, *cabergoline, and pramipexole and are used to treat *parkinsonism. Drugs that compete with dopamine to occupy and block the dopamine receptor sites in the body are known as dopamine receptor antagonists. They include some *antipsychotic drugs (e.g. the phenothiazines and *butyrophenones) and certain drugs (e.g. *domperidone and *metoclopramide) used to treat nausea and vomiting.... dopamine