| CASE REPORT |
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| Year : 2012 | Volume
: 13
| Issue : 1 | Page : 47-49 |
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Reversal of risperidone induced galactorrhoea with aripiprazole: a case report
Harihar Chilukuri
Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Narayana Medical College, Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, India
Correspondence Address:
Harihar Chilukuri
Professor of Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Narayana Medical College, Chintareddy Palem, Nellore-524002, Andhra Pradesh
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
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Background: Majority of the antipsychotics including some of the atypical antipsychotics are associated with adverse effects related to blockade of dopamine (D2) receptors. Of them, galactorrhoea can be a very distressing and embarrassing symptom. A constant search is therefore on for antipsychotics with lesser adverse effects.
Case description: A thirty year old married lady suffering from Unspecified Nonorganic Psychosis of three years duration had developed troublesome galactorrhoea while on treatment with trifluperazine. It was changed over to risperidone in an effort to reverse galactorrhoea but without benefit. She was then switched over to aripiprazole while tapering off the previous medication. Her mental condition improved while her galactorrhoea too stopped within three weeks.
Discussion: Unlike other antipsychotic drugs, aripiprazole as a partial D2 agonist, may not result in the severe hypodopaminergic state in the tubero-infundibular pathways and thus does not increase prolactin levels. This mode of action is unique to aripiprazole and explains how it can ameliorate the galactorrhoea induced by other antipsychotic drugs.
Conclusion: Aripiprazole is an effective and a safer atypical antipsychotic more so for its low propensity for galactorrhoea. It may also reverse the galactorrhoea induced by other antipsychotics such as risperidone.
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