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N B Kennedy

Publications and source records attributed to N B Kennedy.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Plasma protein and lipoprotein distribution of clozapine.

OBJECTIVE: The authors' goal was to determine what effect dyslipidemia has on clozapine's plasma distribution. METHOD: [(3)H]Clozapine plus cold clozapine (335 ng/ml) were incubated in plasma samples with varying total cholesterol, lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglyceride concentrations. Following incubation, the plasma was separated into its lipoprotein and lipoprotein-deficient fractions by density gradient ultracentrifugation and clozapine distribution was determined. RESULTS: Compared with the plasma standard, significantly more clozapine was recovered in the very-low-density lipoprotein fraction, which contained elevated total cholesterol and triglycerides. Correlation analysis revealed a positive correlation between total plasma triglyceride concentration and clozapine recovery in this fraction. CONCLUSIONS: In plasma samples with elevated triglycerides, clozapine shifts from the lipoprotein-deficient fraction to the very-low-density lipoprotein fraction. This redistribution of clozapine may affect the pharmacological activity of clozapine.

Antipsychotic Agents↗

Antipsychotic polypharmacy: a survey of discharge prescriptions from a tertiary care psychiatric institution.

OBJECTIVE: To perform a retrospective survey of discharge medications at a tertiary care psychiatric facility and to assess the incidence of antipsychotic polypharmacy. METHOD: This is a retrospective survey that used the Department of Pharmacy's computer database to obtain relevant discharge information on all nongeriatric patients with schizophrenia discharged from Riverview Hospital between November 1, 1996 and October 31, 1998. From a total of 492 eligible patients, 229 met the inclusion criteria and formed the database for the survey. RESULTS: The main finding of the survey was that 27.5% of our discharged patients diagnosed with schizophrenia left our facility on an antipsychotic polypharmacy regimen. Compared with patients discharged on a single antipsychotic, the pooled data revealed a significantly greater use of anticholinergic agents in those patients prescribed an antipsychotic polypharmacy regimen. Further, of the atypical agents, only risperidone showed a statistically significant reduction in dosage when coprescribed with a second antipsychotic. CONCLUSION: Although antipsychotic polypharmacy persists today, as it has over the past 30 years, evidence-based data to support this controversial treatment strategy is lacking. As a result clinicians are relying on their clinical experience, and perhaps intuition, to design antipsychotic polypharmacy treatment protocols. Efforts should be made to replace subjective clinical impression with a more rational approach to antipsychotic polypharmacy--one that is based on pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic understanding of drug action.

Adult↗

Rational antipsychotic polypharmacy.

The use of two antipsychotics for the treatment of individuals with psychiatric disorders is not uncommon in clinical practice but is rarely documented in the literature. The present article suggests an alternative method of treating individuals who show a partial but inadequate response to antipsychotic monotherapy. A rational strategy for augmenting one antipsychotic with a second, based on pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic principles, is provided. The present approach considers the 5-hydroxytryptamine2 to dopamine2 ratio, other complementary receptor affinities and drug-drug interactions involving the cytochrome P450 isoenzymes. The present article presents a rationale for augmenting haloperidol in patients who are partially responsive to clozapine.

Antipsychotic Agents↗

Taking rehab home.

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Activities of Daily Living↗