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

The latter allows different disorders such as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia to be kept stable, as well as serving as an aid 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 psychoactive drug classified within the group of atypical antipsychotics , which are substances that by altering different elements at the brain level try to combat the symptoms of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.

The fact that it is classified among the atypical antipsychotics is due to the fact that it is one of the products of the research carried out to generate medications that do not have as many side effects as the first antipsychotics that were discovered, and at the same time it was attempted to improve the effectiveness in the treatment of negative symptoms (which diminish the patient’s functionality by reducing their activation), something in which the typical or classic ones did not produce any effect and could even worsen.

Lurasidone mainly contributes to the reduction of the so-called positive symptoms (not because it is good but because it adds elements and hyperactivity to the subject) such as hallucinations, vegetative hyperactivity and feelings of restlessness and nervousness. Likewise, as an atypical antipsychotic that it is, it also reduces such as alogia, anhedonia and 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 is the case with most antipsychotics, on the blocking of the dopamine D2 receptors of the mesolimbic pathway. It has been observed that positive symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions, could be caused by an excess of dopamine in the mesolimbic pathway. It also has a relevant interaction with the serotonergic system, and at a lower level with noradrenaline.

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

These, among them lurasidone, stand out because although their mechanism of action goes through the blockade of D2 receptors, it also has an effect on cerebral serotonin, reducing it . This neurotransmitter has an inhibitory effect on dopamine synthesis, and is also found in much greater quantities in the cerebral cortex, so that when serotonin levels fall, dopamine levels rise in areas other than the mesolimbic pathway.

In this way, the antagonistic 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 symptoms).

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 solely to disorders within the psychotic spectrum. Lurasidone is also quite effective in the presence of depressive episodes in the context of bipolar disorder , increasing energy levels and reducing the anhedonia of such episodes

You may be interested in: “Bipolar Disorder: 10 Features and Trivia You Didn’t Know”

Side effects, risks and contraindications

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

It has been observed that the consumption of this substance can generate sedation, dizziness, hyperthermia, weight gain, hyperglycemia , increased thirst and hunger, hypersalivation, sexual disorders such as decreased sexual desire or secretion of milk 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 are also observed.

In terms of contraindications, should be avoided by pregnant women , people taking other medications (especially psychotropic drugs such as antidepressants), and elderly people with dementia (who are more likely to die from consumption) or who have had a stroke.