Which role for brexpiprazole, a new dopamine D2 partial agonist, in the treatment of schizophrenia?

ABSTRACT FROM: Correll CU, Skuban A, Ouyang J, et al. Efficacy and safety of brexpiprazole for the treatment of acute schizophrenia: a 6-Week Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial. Am J Psychiatry 2015;172:870–80. What is already known on this topic Despite the availability of different antipsychotics for the treatment of schizophrenia, in clinical practice it is somewhat of a struggle to identify an antipsychotic medication for individual patients that they are willing to adhere to. Brexpiprazole is a new molecular entity that is a dopamine receptor partial agonist that differs from aripiprazole in terms of greater potency at serotonin 5-HT1A receptors and less intrinsic activity at dopamine D2 receptors.1 Brexpiprazole received approval in the USA for the treatment of schizophrenia in July 2015, based in part on two acute phase clinical trials,2 of which one is the subject of this commentary. Methods of the...
Source: Evidence-Based Mental Health - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Electronic pages Source Type: research