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Loxapine (sold as Loxapac, Loxitane) is a typical antipsychotic
Typical antipsychotic

Typical antipsychotics are a class of antipsychotic drugs first developed in the 1950s and used to treat psychosis , and are generally being replaced by atypical antipsychotic drugs....
 medication
Medication

A pharmaceutical drug, also referred to as medicine or medicament, can be loosely defined as any substance intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease....
, used primarily in the treatment of schizophrenia
Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia , from the Ancient Greek Root schizein and phren, phren- is a psychiatry diagnosis that describes a mental disorder characterized by abnormalities in the perception or expression of reality....
. It is a member of the dibenzoxazepine class and as a dibenzazepine derivative
Derivative (chemistry)

In chemistry, a derivative is a Chemical compound that is formed from a similar compound or a compound that can be imagined to arise from another compound, if one atom is replaced with another atom or group of atoms....
, it is structurally related to clozapine
Clozapine

Clozapine is an antipsychotic and benzodiazepine medication used in the treatment of schizophrenia. The first of the atypical antipsychotics to be developed, it was first introduced in Europe in 1971, but was voluntarily withdrawn by the manufacturer in 1975 after it was shown to cause agranulocytosis that led to death in some patients....
 (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 drugs used to treat psychiatric conditions. Some atypical antipsychotics are Food and Drug Administration 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 class....
, a tricyclic antidepressant
Tricyclic antidepressant

Tricyclic antidepressants are a class of antidepressant Medications first used in the 1950s. They are named after the drugs' molecular structure, which contains three rings of atoms ....
 .

most significant side-effects of loxapine are excessive salivation and indifference to surroundings.






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Loxapine (sold as Loxapac, Loxitane) is a typical antipsychotic
Typical antipsychotic

Typical antipsychotics are a class of antipsychotic drugs first developed in the 1950s and used to treat psychosis , and are generally being replaced by atypical antipsychotic drugs....
 medication
Medication

A pharmaceutical drug, also referred to as medicine or medicament, can be loosely defined as any substance intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease....
, used primarily in the treatment of schizophrenia
Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia , from the Ancient Greek Root schizein and phren, phren- is a psychiatry diagnosis that describes a mental disorder characterized by abnormalities in the perception or expression of reality....
. It is a member of the dibenzoxazepine class and as a dibenzazepine derivative
Derivative (chemistry)

In chemistry, a derivative is a Chemical compound that is formed from a similar compound or a compound that can be imagined to arise from another compound, if one atom is replaced with another atom or group of atoms....
, it is structurally related to clozapine
Clozapine

Clozapine is an antipsychotic and benzodiazepine medication used in the treatment of schizophrenia. The first of the atypical antipsychotics to be developed, it was first introduced in Europe in 1971, but was voluntarily withdrawn by the manufacturer in 1975 after it was shown to cause agranulocytosis that led to death in some patients....
 (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 drugs used to treat psychiatric conditions. Some atypical antipsychotics are Food and Drug Administration 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 class....
, a tricyclic antidepressant
Tricyclic antidepressant

Tricyclic antidepressants are a class of antidepressant Medications first used in the 1950s. They are named after the drugs' molecular structure, which contains three rings of atoms ....
 .

Side effects

The most significant side-effects of loxapine are excessive salivation 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 or adverse drug event is an expression that describes the unwanted, negative consequences associated with the use of given medications....
 include tardive dyskinesia
Tardive dyskinesia

Tardive dyskinesia is a variety of Dyskinesia manifesting as a side effect of long-term or high-dose use of dopamine antagonists, usually antipsychotics....
, neuroleptic malignant syndrome
Neuroleptic malignant syndrome

Neuroleptic malignant syndrome is a life-threatening neurological disorder most often caused by an adverse reaction to antipsychotic. It generally presents with muscle rigidity, fever, autonomic instability and cognitive changes such as delirium, and is associated with elevated creatine phosphokinase ....
, extrapyramidal side effects
Extrapyramidal system

In human anatomy, the extrapyramidal system is a neural network located in the human brain that is part of the motor system involved in the coordination of movement....
, tremor
Tremor

Tremor is an unintentional, somewhat rhythmic, muscle movement 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, head, face, vocal cords, trunk, and legs....
, gynecomastia
Gynecomastia

Gynecomastia, or gynaecomastia, is the development of abnormally large mammary glands in males resulting in breast enlargement, which can sometimes cause secretion of milk....
 and sedation
Sedation

Sedation is a medical procedure involving the administration of sedative drugs, generally to facilitate a medical procedure with local anaesthesia....
.

Dosage

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

External links

  • from Medscape (free registration required).