atypical antipsychotic
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Objective: Cariprazine is a new atypical antipsychotic approved for the acute and maintenance treatment of schizophrenia (1, 2) and for the treatment of manic or mixed episodes associated with bipolar I disorder (1). Recently, cariprazine also got extended FDA-approval for the treatment of depressive episodes in adults with bipolar I disorder (3). The use of low doses of atypical antipsychotics is an essential component of early intervention in psychosis. For its particular performance and tolerability, cariprazine is becoming an important option for the treatment of first-episode psychosis.Method: Three patients experiencing first-episode psychosis (FEP) were successfully treated with cariprazine. Two patients were in their first months of the disease, and the third patient was in his third year after the FEP.Results: The three patients had a diagnosis of non-affective FEP, which includes schizophrenia, delusional disorder, and schizoaffective disorder. One of them was in their third year after the FEP with a predominance of negative symptoms at this stage of the disorder. All the patients were treated with cariprazine with a target dose of 3–4.5 mg/day. The three patients showed improvements in their psychosis, including a decrease in negative symptoms. No significant side effects were reported.Conclusion: Our three case reports indicate that cariprazine is an atypical antipsychotic beneficial in the treatment of early psychosis. Treatment with low doses of cariprazine could be effective and tolerable in this phase of the disorder. Future studies with longer follow-up of FEP patients are recommended to confirm these positive results of cariprazine in the early phases of psychosis.

Amisulpride is an atypical antipsychotic with the preferential action on D2/D3 receptors. Its common adverse effects are extrapyramidal symptoms, insomnia, hyperkinesia, anxiety, weight gain, agitation, hyperprolactinemia. We have witnessed a adverse effect of urinary retention induced by amisulpride at minimal dosage and would like to present the same.

Clotiapine is an atypical antipsychotic indicated for the management of a series of acute psychotic disorders. The current literature lacks evidence concerning the tolerability and clinical use of this drug in the management of individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN). In this study, we report two cases of adolescents with AN, treated with clotiapine. The reason for the administration of clotiapine was, for both patients, the manifestation of bizarre delusions concerning food and calories. Patient 1 presented a presyncope after the first dose of clotiapine, and treatment was rapidly discontinued. Patient 2 was treated with clotiapine for 9 months; doses were titrated from 20 mg/day to 70 mg/day, with an improvement in the reported delusions, which also enhanced compliance with psychological and nutritional interventions. EKG, QTc, white blood count, and red blood count were not relevantly influenced by the introduction of clotiapine in either patient. No extrapyramidal effect was documented. These reports stress the need for further studies assessing the tolerability and potential effect of clotiapine in treating adolescents with AN and delusional symptomatology.

The concept of catatonia was first described by a German psychiatrist, Kahlbaum, in 1874. Catatonia is a serious neurological disorder associated with a wide range of psychiatric, neurological, medical conditions, and drug-induced disorders. Nevertheless, there is no absolute guideline for treating catatonia patients in whom the cause of the disorder is unknown. Clozapine is the first atypical antipsychotic used for the treatment of catatonia. Our case was a 51-year-old single, right-handed man with schizophrenia and a specific symptom of catatonia. Despite previous studies findings revealing the efficacy of clozapine in relieving catatonia symptoms, our patient did not show a definite response to this medication. Hence, follow-up of these patients to evaluate other treatments and possible incidence or manifest of other catatonic features like waxy flexibility, echo phenomenon, and negativism are suggested.

Atypical antipsychotic (AAP) medication is a critical tool for treating symptoms of psychiatric disorders. While AAPs primarily target dopamine (D2) and serotonin (5HT2A and 5HT1A) receptors, they also exhibit intrinsic antimicrobial activity as an off-target effect. Because AAPs are often prescribed to patients for many years, a potential risk associated with long-term AAP use is the unintended emergence of bacteria with antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Here, we show that exposure to the AAP quetiapine at estimated gut concentrations promotes AMR in Escherichia coli after six weeks. Quetiapine-exposed isolates exhibited an increase in minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for ampicillin, tetracycline, ceftriaxone, and levofloxacin. By whole genome sequencing analysis, we identified mutations in genes that confer AMR, including the repressor for the multiple antibiotic resistance mar operon (marR), and real-time RT-qPCR analysis showed increased levels of marA, acrA, and tolC mRNAs and a reduced level of ompF mRNA in the isolates carrying marR mutations. To determine the contribution of each marR mutation to AMR, we constructed isogenic strains carrying individual mutant marR alleles in the parent background and re-evaluated their resistant phenotypes using MIC and RT-qPCR assays. While marR mutations induced a robust activity of the mar operon, they resulted in only a modest increase in MICs. Interestingly, although these marR mutations did not fully recapitulate the AMR phenotype of the quetiapine-exposed isolates, we show that marR mutations promote growth fitness in the presence of quetiapine. Our findings revealed an important link between the use of AAPs and AMR development in E. coli.