Abstract

Extended-release intramuscular aripiprazole for maintenance pharmacotherapy in schizophrenia and related disorders

Author(s): Leon Tourian,Howard C Margolese

Aripiprazole is a third-generation antipsychotic. It is prepared in many different formulations including oral, intravenous and intramuscular. The intramuscular option is currently available in fast-acting form while the long-acting (extended-release, depot) formulation was just approved by the US FDA. The purpose of this article is to review the current literature regarding the long-acting formulation of aripiprazole. Medical literature published in English on ‘aripiprazole’ or ‘Abilify®’ (Otsuka America Pharmaceutical Inc., MD, USA) was found using Pubmed, Medline and EMBASE. Publications containing the words ‘depot’, ‘long-acting’ or ‘intramuscular’ in their title or abstract were utilized. In total, two publications were reviewed for the purposes of this article. There is a scarcity of publications on the effectiveness of long-acting aripiprazole in the treatment of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. However, the available literature suggests that aripiprazole depot is a well tolerated, maintenance treatment option for schizophrenia.