Lurasidone: effects, operation and uses of this drug

This drug is used against psychotic-type disorders, such as schizophrenia.

There are many substances and compounds, some obtained directly from nature and others synthesized by man, which have been found to be effective and useful in treating different ailments. Research into the properties of these substances is what has given rise to pharmacology. And not only the one dedicated to the medical field focused on the body, but also on the mind: psychopharmacology.

The latter makes it possible to stabilize different disorders such as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, as well as to help in the treatment of other disorders through the different drugs that have been developed throughout history. One of these drugs used mainly in the treatment of schizophrenia is lurasidone..

What is lurasidone?

Lurasidone is a psychopharmacological drug classified within the group of atypical antipsychoticswhich are substances that, by altering different elements in the brain, try to combat the symptoms of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.

The fact that it is classified within the atypical antipsychotics is due to the fact that it is one of the products of the research carried out to generate drugs that did not have as many side effects as the first antipsychotics that were discovered and at the same time tried to improve the effectiveness in the treatment of the negative symptomatology (which reduces the functionality of the patient by reducing his activation), something in which the typical or classic ones did not produce any effect and could even worsen.

Lurasidone contributes to diminish mainly the so-called positive symptomatology (not because it is good but because it adds elements and hyperactivity to the subject) such as hallucinations (not because it is good but because it adds elements and hyperactive to the subject) such as hallucinations, vegetative hyperactivation and the sensation of restlessness and nervousness. Likewise, as an atypical antipsychotic, it also reduces alogia, anhedonia, passivity and low energy level. It has also been observed to increase sleep and appetite in those patients with schizophrenia and similar disorders.

Mechanism of action.

The functioning of lurasidone is based, as in most antipsychotics, on the blockade of dopamine D2 receptors of the mesolimbic pathway. It has been observed that positive symptomatology, such as hallucinations and delusions, could be caused by an excess of lurasidone in the mesolimbic pathway, could be caused by an excess of dopamine in this pathway. in this pathway. It also has a relevant interaction with the serotonergic system, and to a lesser extent with noradrenaline.

The first of these effects could be achieved by typical antipsychotics, but these have the disadvantage that their action blocking dopamine is unspecific and affects many other brain pathways in which there is no dopaminergic alteration or even a lack of it (being this deficit in the mesocortical pathway what is considered responsible for the negative symptomatology), causing unpleasant and even dangerous secondary alterations. For this reason, alternatives were sought and atypical antipsychotics were eventually developed.

These, including lurasidone, stand out because although their mechanism of action involves blocking D2 receptors, they also have an effect on serotonin, also has an effect on brain serotonin, reducing it.. This neurotransmitter has an inhibitory effect on dopamine synthesis, and is also found in much greater quantity in the cerebral cortex, so that when serotonin levels are lowered, dopamine levels rise in areas other than the mesolimbic pathway.

In this way the antagonist action of the drug towards dopamine reduces the levels of this hormone in the mesolimbic pathway, but in the rest of the brain there is no alteration because the decrease that the drug would generate is compensated by the decrease of serotonin as an inhibitor of its synthesis (and even in the mesocortical pathway it produces a slight increase, improving negative symptomatology).

What is it used for?

Lurasidone is a drug whose main indication is schizophrenia, in which it has considerable effectiveness in reducing both positive and negative symptoms.. In addition, it is also effective in other psychotic disorders such as chronic delusional disorder.

But its use is not limited only to disorders within the psychotic spectrum. Lurasidone is also quite effective in the presence of depressive episodes in the context of a bipolar disorder, increasing energy levels and reducing the risk of depression.by increasing energy levels and reducing the anhedonia characteristic of such episodes.

Side effects, risks and contraindications

Although it has fewer side effects and a higher level of safety than typical antipsychotics, the truth is that lurasidone can generate different discomforts and may even be contraindicated in some patients.

It has been observed that consumption of this substance may cause sedation, dizziness, hyperthermia, weight gain, hyperglycemia, hyperglycemiaIn some cases, the patient may also experience: increased thirst and hunger, hypersalivation, sexual alterations such as decreased sexual desire or milk secretion from the breasts (regardless of sex), agitation, tremors, Nausea and vomiting, choking sensation or tachycardia, among others. Bradykinesia, involuntary oral and orofacial movements such as dyskinesia and in some cases even convulsions have also been observed.

At the level of contraindications, This drug should be avoided or special caution should be exercised by pregnant women, people taking other medications, people who are taking other drugs, and those who are not pregnant.people taking other medications (especially psychotropic drugs such as antidepressants) and elderly people with dementia (who are more likely to die with consumption) or who have had a stroke.