Loxapine is a typical antipsychotic

Typical antipsychotic

Typical antipsychotics are a class of antipsychotic drugs first developed in the 1950s and used to treat psychosis...

 medication

Medication

A pharmaceutical drug, also referred to as medicine, medication or medicament, can be loosely defined as any chemical substance intended for use in the medical diagnosis, cure, treatment, or prevention of disease.- Classification :...

, used primarily in the treatment of schizophrenia

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...

. It is a member of the dibenzoxazepine class and as a dibenzazepine

Dibenzazepine

Dibenzazepine is a chemical compound with two benzene rings fused to an azepine group.Dibenzazepine is used as an intermediate for the synthesis of specific analgesic and antipsychotic agents....

 derivative

Derivative (chemistry)

In chemistry, a derivative is a compound that is derived from a similar compound by some chemical or physical process. In the past it was also used to mean a compound that can be imagined to arise from another compound, if one atom is replaced with another atom or group of atoms, but modern...

, it is structurally related to clozapine

Clozapine

Clozapine is an antipsychotic medication used in the treatment of schizophrenia, and is also used off-label in the treatment of bipolar disorder. Wyatt. R and Chew...

 (which belongs to the chemically closely akin class of dibenzodiazepines). Several researchers have argued that Loxapine may behave as an atypical antipsychotic

Atypical antipsychotic

The atypical antipsychotics are a group of antipsychotic tranquilizing drugs used to treat psychiatric conditions. Some atypical antipsychotics are FDA approved for use in the treatment of schizophrenia...

.

Loxapine may be metabolized by N-demethylation to amoxapine

Amoxapine

Amoxapine is a tetracyclic antidepressant of the dibenzoxazepine family, though it is often classified as a secondary amine tricyclic antidepressant.- Uses :...

, a tetracyclic antidepressant

Tetracyclic antidepressant

Tetracyclic antidepressants are a class of drugs used primarily as antidepressants that were first introduced in the 1970s. They are named after their chemical structure which contains four rings of atoms and are closely related to the tricyclic antidepressants which contain three rings of...

.

Precautions

Care should be taken with consumption. At least 3 cases were reported of loxapine succinate abuse.

Side effects

The most significant side-effects of loxapine are excessive salivation (hypersalivation

Hypersalivation

Hypersalivation is excessive production of saliva. It has also been defined as increased amount of saliva in the mouth, which may also be caused by decreased clearance of saliva....

) and indifference to surroundings. Loxapine, if administered to individuals without schizophrenia, causes emotional quieting and insensitivity. In persons with psychosis, it may control aggressive behaviour and restlessness, and reduce the severity of hallucinations and delusions.
Other Side effects

Adverse drug reaction

An adverse drug reaction is an expression that describes harm associated with the use of given medications at a normal dosage. ADRs may occur following a single dose or prolonged administration of a drug or result from the combination of two or more drugs...

 include tardive dyskinesia

Tardive dyskinesia

Tardive dyskinesia is a difficult-to-treat form of dyskinesia that can be tardive...

, neuroleptic malignant syndrome

Neuroleptic malignant syndrome

Neuroleptic malignant syndrome is a life- threatening neurological disorder most often caused by an adverse reaction to neuroleptic or antipsychotic drugs...

, extrapyramidal side effects

Extrapyramidal system

In human anatomy, the extrapyramidal system is a neural network located in the brain that is part of the motor system involved in the coordination of movement. The system is called "extrapyramidal" to distinguish it from the tracts of the motor cortex that reach their targets by traveling through...

, tremor

Tremor

A tremor is an involuntary, somewhat rhythmic, muscle contraction and relaxation involving to-and-fro movements of one or more body parts. It is the most common of all involuntary movements and can affect the hands, arms, eyes, face, head, vocal folds, trunk, and legs. Most tremors occur in the...

, gynecomastia

Gynecomastia

Gynecomastia or Gynaecomastia, , is the abnormal development of large mammary glands in males resulting in breast enlargement. The term comes from the Greek γυνή gyné meaning "woman" and μαστός mastós meaning "breast"...

 and sedation

Sedation

Sedation is the reduction of irritability or agitation by administration of sedative drugs, generally to facilitate a medical procedure or diagnostic procedure...

.

Dosage

The typical starting dosage is 10 mg twice daily; usual dose range 30–50 mg twice daily; maximum recommended dosage is 250 mg per day.

A brief review of loxapine found no conclusive evidence that it was particularly effective in patients with paranoid schizophrenia. A subsequent systematic review considered that the limited evidence did not indicate a clear difference in its effects from other antipsychotics.

Loxapine was one of five antipsychotics used in a study on the structure of schizophrenic neurons. Only Loxapine was linked to the development of new connections between neurons.

Chemistry

Schmutz, J.; Kunzle, F.; Hunziker, F.; Gauch, R.; Helv. Chim. Acta 1967, 50, 245.

External links

• Product monograph from Medscape (free registration required).