Daily Medication Pearl: Risperidone (Risperdal Consta)

Medication Pearl of the Day: Risperidone (Risperdal Consta)

Indication: Risperidone (Risperdal Consta) is an atypical antipsychotic that can treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and irritability caused by autism.

Insight:

• Dosing: Administer intramuscularly 25 mg intramuscular every 2 weeks.
• Dosage forms: Vial kits 12.5 mg, 25 mg, 37.5 mg, and 50 mg.
• Adverse events: The most common adverse reactions in clinical trials in patients with schizophrenia (≥ 5%) were headache, parkinsonism, dizziness, akathisia, fatigue, constipation, dyspepsia, sedation, weight increased, pain in extremity, and dry mouth. The most common adverse reactions in clinical trials among patients with bipolar disorder were weight increase (5% in monotherapy trial) and tremor and parkinsonism (≥10% in adjunctive therapy trial).
• Mechanism of action: The mechanism of action of risperidone, as with other drugs used to treat schizophrenia, is unknown. However, it has been proposed that the drug’s therapeutic activity in schizophrenia is mediated through a combination of dopamine type 2 and serotonin type 2 receptor antagonism.
• Manufacturer: Janssen

Reference:

Risperdal Consta label (fda.gov)