Abilify Fact Sheet
Bristol-Myers Squibb; patent expiration 2014.
Schizophrenia
- Bipolar disorder, manic and mixed episodes.
Partial agonist at the D2 and 5HT 1A receptors, and full antagonist at the 5HT 2A receptor (vs. other atypicals which are D2 and 5 HT 2 antagonists).
Supplied as:
- Oral tablets at 5 mg, 10 mg, 15 mg, 20 mg, and 30 mg
- Orally disintegrating “Abilify Discmelt” tablets in 10 mg and 15 mg strengths
- Oral solution (1 mg/mL) in 150 ml bottles
- Start most patients at 10 mg QD to prevent agitation/akathisia, gradually increase to target dose of 15-30 mg QD.
- Can be dosed once daily because of long half life.
- No dosage adjustments required in liver or renal impairment, elderly, or in smokers.
BLACK BOX WARNING: All atypicals may increase mortality in elderly patients by 1.7 times greater than placebo.
- Most common are headache, anxiety/agitation/akithisia, insomnia, and nausea. Anecdotally, at 30 mg dose sedation becomes more common.
- EPS: Minimal risk.
- Weight gain: Minimal. In clinical trials in schizophrenia there was an average weight gain of about 1.5 pounds over 4-6 weeks, but no weight gain in bipolar patients over 3 weeks.
- Glucose/Lipids: Minimal to no elevation.
- EKG: No significant changes; QT interval showed a slight shortening (of no clinical significance).
- Prolactin level: No elevation.
- Pregnancy Category C.
Does not itself inhibit liver enzymes, so Abilify does not significantly affect the metabolism of other drugs.
- Metabolized by CYP2D6 and CYP3A4, so Tegretol will decrease effective dose, while Prozac and Paxil will increase levels. Also, poor metabolizers of CYP2D6 (8% of Caucasians) will have a 60% higher effective dose.
Long half life of 4 days.
Current Issue
Topics
Search
Follow Us
Earn CME Credit Instantly!
Not quite ready for a one-year subscription to The Carlat Psychiatry Report? Need CME credits on a particular topic or on a tight deadline?
Try our A la Carte CME! You can buy single or multiple credits of continuing education, without committing to a year-long newsletter subscription.
Click here to purchase A la Carte CME credits
Already an A la Carte subscriber? Click here to go to your a la carte page
Steve Balt Interviewed by NPR
Our own Steve Balt was interviewed on NPR's "Talk of the Nation" on psychiatry's shift toward drugs and away from talk therapy.
Editor-in-Chief
After 10 years at the helm of TCPR, Dr. Carlat has handed over editor-in-chief duties to Dr. Steve Balt. We’re excited to welcome him aboard! Read More...
The 2012 Carlat Atypical Antipsychotics Table is Now Available!
With all the atypicals on the market, it's hard to keep track of indications, dosages, and all the other relevant facts for each drug. Use this table for summaries on these meds, their uses, their side effects, and a whole slew of other information.
TCPR Continuing Education
Accredited/Approved/Accepted by:
- ACCME
- AMA
- APA
- ABPN
- ANCC
- AAPA