Master High Potency Antipsychotic Drugs with Picmonic for Medicine

Fluphenazine is a high potency antipsychotic medication used to treat psychosis and schizophrenia. It has a long half-life of 15-30 hours.

Trifluoperazine is a high potency antipsychotic medication used in the treatment of schizophrenia and anxiety.

Haloperidol is a medication used to treat schizophrenia, acute psychosis, and delirium. This drug has many serious side effects and is very potent. It is a derivative of butyrophenone, which was an original antipsychotic developed in the 1950s.

Pimozide is a high-potency antipsychotic medication primarily used to treat schizophrenia and delusional disorders. It works by blocking dopamine receptors in the brain, alleviating symptoms like hallucinations and delusions. Its long duration of action allows for once-daily dosing. Pimozide is sometimes used off-label for Tourette syndrome. Side effects include extrapyramidal symptoms, sedation, weight gain, and rarely, cardiac arrhythmias, necessitating close cardiac monitoring due to its potential to prolong the QT interval on an ECG.

Extrapyramidal symptoms are movement disorders related to the administration of medications with anti-dopaminergic activity, including antipsychotics (especially high potency ones), as well as other medications, for example, metoclopramide (an antiemetic). The extrapyramidal side effects of dystonia, torticollis, akathisia, and Parkinsonism are seen more often in high potency antipsychotics.

Short-term symptoms such as dystonia and torticollis can occur within hours to days after treatment.

Dystonia is described as sustained muscle contraction, which can present as repetitive twitching and abnormal posture. This side effect is an acute extrapyramidal symptom.

Akathisia is a short-term extrapyramidal symptom commonly associated with high-potency antipsychotic medications. It is characterized by distressing inner restlessness, compelling individuals to constantly move their limbs or pace. This sensation can be profoundly uncomfortable and may lead to agitation and an inability to sit still. Akathisia typically emerges shortly after initiation of treatment with high-potency antipsychotics. While it is often transient, it can significantly impact a person's quality of life and adherence to medication regimens.

Patients with torticollis display an asymmetric neck position and have a fixed tilt of the head. Torticollis may be present in patients suffering from an acute extrapyramidal reaction after short-term treatment with high potency antipsychotics.

Long-term treatment with high potency antipsychotics can lead to parkinsonism and tardive dyskinesia.

Tardive dyskinesia is described as repetitive, involuntary movements typically of the mouth or face but potentially of the trunk or extremities as well. Patients often have characteristic lip-smacking or hand movements. These symptoms typically occur months into high potency antipsychotic treatment.

Parkinson's-like symptoms occur after weeks of treatment with high potency antipsychotics. Patients with this side effect display muscle stiffness, pill-rolling tremor, and decreased movement.

Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (NMS) is a potentially life-threatening neurological disorder associated with the use of high-potency antipsychotic drugs, which are a class of medications primarily employed in the treatment of psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia. NMS is characterized by a spectrum of severe symptoms, including hyperthermia (elevated body temperature), autonomic dysregulation, altered mental status, and generalized muscle rigidity. This syndrome is most commonly linked to the administration of high-potency antipsychotic medications, which exert a strong blockade of dopamine receptors in the central nervous system.