- Section 1 The Subject Matter of and Approach to Psychiatry
- 1.3 Psychiatry as a worldwide public health problem
- 1.4 The history of psychiatry as a medical specialty
- 1.5 Ethics and values
- 1.6 The psychiatrist as a manager
- 1.7 Descriptive phenomenology
- 1.8 Assessment
- 1.9 Diagnosis and classification
- 1.10 From science to practice
- Section 2 The Scientific Basis of Psychiatric Aetiology
- 2.3 The contribution of neurosciences
- 2.4 The contribution of genetics
- 2.5 The contribution of psychological science
- 2.6 The contribution of social sciences
- 2.7 The contribution of epidemiology to psychiatric aetiology
- Section 3 Psychodynamic Contributions to Psychiatry
- Section 4 Clinical Syndromes of Adult Psychiatry
- 4.4 Persistent delusional symptoms and disorders
- 4.5 Mood disorders
- 4.6 Stress-related and adjustment disorders
- 4.7 Anxiety disorders
- Section 5 Psychiatry and Medicine
- Section 6 Treatment Methods in Psychiatry
- 6.2 Somatic treatments
- 6.2.1 General principles of drug therapy in psychiatry
- 6.2.2 Anxiolytics and hypnotics
- 6.2.3 Antidepressants
- 6.2.4 Lithium and related mood stabilizers
- 6.2.5 Antipsychotic and anticholinergic drugs
- 6.2.6 Antiepileptic drugs
- 6.2.7 Drugs for cognitive disorders
- 6.2.8 Drugs used in the treatment of the addictions
- 6.2.9 Complementary medicines
- 6.2.10 Non-pharmacological somatic treatments
- 6.3 Psychological treatments
- 6.4 Treatment by other professions
- 6.5 Indigenous, folk healing practices
- Section 7 Social Psychiatry and Service Provision
- Section 8 The Psychiatry of Old Age
- Section 9 Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
General principles of drug therapy in psychiatry
- Chapter:
- General principles of drug therapy in psychiatry
- Author(s):
J. K. Aronson
- DOI:
- 10.1093/med/9780199696758.003.0151
The successful use of psychotropic drugs demands an understanding of their pharmaceutical, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacodynamic properties. ♦ Pharmaceutical properties: Pharmaceutical formulations can be manipulated to produce different durations of action, for example the use of oily emulsions of antipsychotic drugs in depot formulations. ♦ Pharmacokinetic properties: Pharmacokinetics is the mathe-matical description of the disposition of drugs in the body by absorption, distribution (to plasma proteins and tissues), and elimination (usually by hepatic metabolism and renal excretion). Differences in drug disposition determine differences in dosage regimens and are important for drug interactions. ♦ Pharmacodynamic properties: Pharmacodynamics is the study of the pharmacological actions of drugs and how actions at the molecular level are translated, via actions at cellular, tissue, and organ levels, into therapeutic or adverse effects. The known pharmacological actions of psychotropic drugs are not necessarily the actions that produce their therapeutic or adverse effects.
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- Section 1 The Subject Matter of and Approach to Psychiatry
- 1.3 Psychiatry as a worldwide public health problem
- 1.4 The history of psychiatry as a medical specialty
- 1.5 Ethics and values
- 1.6 The psychiatrist as a manager
- 1.7 Descriptive phenomenology
- 1.8 Assessment
- 1.9 Diagnosis and classification
- 1.10 From science to practice
- Section 2 The Scientific Basis of Psychiatric Aetiology
- 2.3 The contribution of neurosciences
- 2.4 The contribution of genetics
- 2.5 The contribution of psychological science
- 2.6 The contribution of social sciences
- 2.7 The contribution of epidemiology to psychiatric aetiology
- Section 3 Psychodynamic Contributions to Psychiatry
- Section 4 Clinical Syndromes of Adult Psychiatry
- 4.4 Persistent delusional symptoms and disorders
- 4.5 Mood disorders
- 4.6 Stress-related and adjustment disorders
- 4.7 Anxiety disorders
- Section 5 Psychiatry and Medicine
- Section 6 Treatment Methods in Psychiatry
- 6.2 Somatic treatments
- 6.2.1 General principles of drug therapy in psychiatry
- 6.2.2 Anxiolytics and hypnotics
- 6.2.3 Antidepressants
- 6.2.4 Lithium and related mood stabilizers
- 6.2.5 Antipsychotic and anticholinergic drugs
- 6.2.6 Antiepileptic drugs
- 6.2.7 Drugs for cognitive disorders
- 6.2.8 Drugs used in the treatment of the addictions
- 6.2.9 Complementary medicines
- 6.2.10 Non-pharmacological somatic treatments
- 6.3 Psychological treatments
- 6.4 Treatment by other professions
- 6.5 Indigenous, folk healing practices
- Section 7 Social Psychiatry and Service Provision
- Section 8 The Psychiatry of Old Age
- Section 9 Child and Adolescent Psychiatry