Neuroleptics, an antipsychotic drug

Neuroleptics are a type of medication widely used to Treating mental illnesses, all of them are of psychotic origin. Let's see what this group of drugs so important to treat these diseases works and how.

Content

• What are neuroleptics
• Types of neuroleptics that exist
  • Typical antipsychotics
  • Atypical antipsychotics

What are neuroleptics

First, we will deepen the concept. Neuroleptics are a group of medications that have a common mechanism, and is that They act by blocking dopamine receptors in the brain.

Dopamine is a substance that usually shoots in people with mental disorders, such as schizophrenia and other psychiatric diseases. For this reason they are also known as antipsychotics.

One of the best known diseases that applies is schizophrenia. This mental disorder is one of the most serious in this area, since it causes in the affected one a loss of the notion of reality.

These people suffer a lot, because there are many prejudices against these disorders and produce a lot of suffering both in them and in the people around. The disease affects its social relations and their cognitive abilities.

People who suffer from it can have problems of perception of reality, hallucinations, delusions and all kinds of conflict with reality. There is no other way to treat them that is not through neuroleptics, also called antipsychotic medications.

That is why your treatment is essential, because you can give a better quality of life to the affected and also a respite to the people around them. Therefore, this type of medicines is fundamental and you have to follow the treatment indicated by a doctor.

Therefore, neuroleptic medications are the most common to treat this type of disease. These act blocking that substance, so that the patient's brain remains under control.

The discovery of this substance has allowed, therefore, that it advances a lot in the treatment of mental illnesses. This happened during the twentieth century, it was in these years when medicine was especially dedicated to treating disorders of this type, obtaining important findings in this regard.

Types of neuroleptics that exist

Neuroleptics are a fundamental type of drug to control mental illnesses, since their discovery has meant an advance in their treatment. These antipsychotics are classified into two groups: the typical and atypical.

Typical antipsychotics

The first, typical neuroleptics, are usual and traditional drugs with which a treatment for a psychotic disorder begins. That is, they are the ones that have been in the market and those that have been most used so far.

Its action is to block Dopamine D2 receptors, which causes a reduction in the excess of this hormone. This is the one that causes this disorder in the brain, with which, when inhibiting it, the balance of its production is achieved.

Here they would be the Haloperidol or chlorpromazine, which are some of the best known and administered antipsychotics today. These can be injected or taken orally as a treatment for a period of time.

However, these neuroleptics also have side effects that need to be known and taken into account before administering them. On the one hand, they can lead to occurring adverse movement disorder effects, Like Parkinson.

For this reason, science continues to investigate to find other medications that produce less side effects. However, they are still used since their positive effects incline the balance to its use. Of course, it is increasingly frequent that they are combined with other medications to control these adverse effects.

Atypical antipsychotics

On the other hand, there are atypical antipsychotics. This term refers to those drugs that are emerging to avoid side effects to those who have mentioned previously.

Therefore, these drugs considered more safe, have been called atypical neuroleptics. Here medications such as clozapine, wave or risperidone enter, which differ from the previous ones in which they have an effect on serotonin.

This is An inhibitor of dopamine release (Remember that antipsychotic, simplifying a lot, acts by braking the production of this substance), so adverse effects are significantly reduced.

That is, antipsychotics of this type, that is, the atypicals have meant an advance to treat these diseases without such negative adverse effects. Although some have, these have been significantly reduced.

In short, as you may have seen, neuroleptics are a group of very important medicines to face and control certain disorders of psychotic origin. It is essential to consume these substances always under medical prescription and never administer it on our own account.