Aripiprazole
1 medicine
Aripiprazole is an atypical antipsychotic used for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and treatment-resistant depression. As a partial dopamine agonist it causes less weight gain than most antipsychotics, but it can trigger compulsive gambling, eating or spending in some people.
Key facts
- Aripiprazole is an atypical antipsychotic used to treat schizophrenia, the manic and mixed episodes of bipolar disorder, and, at low doses, as an add-on treatment for depression.
- It is taken as tablets, a dissolving tablet, or a liquid, usually once daily; long-acting injections given monthly are available for ongoing treatment.
- Aripiprazole is a partial dopamine agonist rather than a pure blocker, so it tends to cause less weight gain, but it carries its own risk: new, uncontrollable urges to gamble, binge eat, shop, or engage in compulsive sexual behavior in a minority of people.
- Seek urgent care for high fever with muscle stiffness and confusion, or report new impulse-control urges to your prescriber right away.
What aripiprazole treats
Aripiprazole treats schizophrenia, reducing hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized thinking, and the manic and mixed episodes of bipolar disorder. At lower doses it is added to antidepressants for major depression that has not fully responded to those medicines alone. It is also used for irritability linked to autism spectrum disorder in children and for tics in Tourette syndrome. It is not intended for everyday stress or ordinary mood variation.
How aripiprazole works
Most antipsychotics simply block dopamine receptors. Aripiprazole instead is a partial agonist: it stimulates dopamine receptors when brain dopamine activity is too low, and dampens them when activity is too high. This balancing action eases psychotic and mood symptoms while causing less sedation and weight gain than many other antipsychotics.
Before you take it
- Tell your prescriber about heart disease, seizures, diabetes, or a personal history of impulse-control problems such as gambling.
- Ask your prescriber and family to watch for new or intense urges to gamble, binge eat, shop, or spend; report any promptly, even without a prior history of these problems.
- It adds to the effect of alcohol and other sedating medicines, though sedation is generally milder than with other antipsychotics.
- It is not approved for older adults with dementia-related psychosis, where it raises the risk of stroke and death.
Side effects
Common effects: restlessness, headache, nausea, and difficulty sleeping. Weight gain and drowsiness occur but are usually less pronounced than with other antipsychotics.
Stop and seek urgent medical care for any of these:
- High fever, muscle rigidity, and confusion, possible neuroleptic malignant syndrome.
- Uncontrollable movements of the face or body.
- New, intense urges to gamble, spend, eat, or engage in sexual behavior that you cannot control.
- Thoughts of self-harm or a sudden worsening of mood.
Safety essentials
- Aripiprazole's partial dopamine action makes weight gain less likely than with many other antipsychotics, but it can trigger impulse-control problems, gambling, bingeing, shopping, or hypersexuality, that you might not connect to the medicine. Report any of these to your prescriber immediately.
- Do not stop aripiprazole abruptly. Neuroleptic malignant syndrome, a rare but serious reaction causing high fever and severe muscle rigidity, is a medical emergency, and sudden discontinuation can cause withdrawal or rebound symptoms.
- If impulse-control symptoms appear, they usually ease once your prescriber lowers the dose or switches the medicine; do not stop it on your own.
This page is educational and does not replace advice from a doctor or pharmacist who knows your health history.