Psychiatric medication



Psychiatric medication is a licenced chemical compounds, although some are naturally occurring.

Administration

Prescription psychiatric medications, like any prescriptive authority for psychologists movement, have granted prescriptive privileges to clinical psychologists that have undergone additional training.[1]

Research

Main article: Psychopharmacology

Psychopharmacology studies a wide range of substances with various types of chemical interactions with the brain. Physicians who research psychiatric medications are psychopharmacologists, specialists in the field of psychopharmacology.

Side effects

Psychiatric medications sometimes have adverse anticholinergic (antimuscarinic) medications. Some side effects, including the possibility of a sudden or severe re-emergence of psychotic features, may appear when the patient stops taking the drug, particularly if a drug is suddenly discontinued instead of slowly tapered off.[1]

Types

See also: List of psychiatric medications and List of psychiatric medications by condition treated

There are four main groups of psychotropic medication. These are the mood stabilisers and the antidepressants. Additionally, there are various other miscellaneous types of medications, such as those used in the treatment of substance misuse and dementia.

Antipsychotics

Main article: Antipsychotics

Antipsychotics are drugs that are used in the treatment of various symptoms of psychosis, such as those caused by Psychotic Disorders or Schizophrenia. Antipsychotics are also sometimes used as mood stabilizers, most frequently to help manage such disorders as Bipolar disorder, even if no symptoms of psychosis are present. Antipsychotics may also be referred to as neuroleptic drugs and some antipsychotics are branded as major tranquilizers.

There are two categories of Antipsychotics, typical antipsychotics and prescription from a licensed physician.

Common Antipsychotics[2]:

Antidepressants

Main article: Antidepressants

Antidepressants are drugs used in the treatment of clinical depression, and they are also often used for anxiety and other disorders. Most antidepressants will restrain the metabolism of SSRI fails to prevent or exacerbates depression.

Common Antidepressants[3][4]:

Mood stabilizers

Main article: Mood stabilizers

In 1949, the Australian John Cade discovered that lithium salts could control mania, reducing the frequency and severity of manic episodes. This introduced the now popular drug Lithium carbonate to the mainstream public, as well as being the first mood stabilizer to be approved by the anticonvulsants.

Common Mood Stabilizers[5]:

Stimulants

Main article: Stimulants

Stimulants are some of the most widely prescribed drugs today. A stimulant is any drug that stimulates the central nervous system. Amphetamine salts, is one of the most prescribed pharmaceuticals in the treatment of ADHD. Typically prescribed to treat adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and an increasingly amount of adults, it is very common as a treatment. Patients respond differently to each drug. Most frequently used are timed-release mediums but if such a method doesn't work there are many options to try. Stimulants have the potential to be addictive and patients with a history of drug abuse are typically monitored closely or even barred from the usage and given an alternative. Discontinuing treatment without tapering the dosage is not advisable.

Common Stimulants[6]:

Anxiolytics & Hypnotics

benzodiazepines (Lowell Randall and Leo Sternbach, 1957) were developed in the 1960s and 1970s. Eventually they led to billions of doses being consumed annually, but as prescriptions were increasing, even more was the abuse of them.

Common Anxiolytics & Hypnotics:

See also

References

  1. ^ Murray, Bridget (October, 2003). A Brief History of RxP. APA Monitor. Retrieved on 4/11/2007.
  2. ^ Stephen M. Stahl, M.D., Ph.D.; et al (2004). "A Review of the Neuropharmacology of Bupropion, a Dual Norepinephrine and Dopamine Reuptake Inhibitor" (pdf). Journal of Clinical Psychiatry; 6(04) 159-166 2004 PHYSICIANS POSTGRADUATE PRESS, INC. Retrieved on 2006-09-02.
 
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Psychiatric_medication". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.