What Are the Benefits and Risks of Abilify?

Abilify, the name brand for aripiprazole, treats several different conditions. It comes in tablet, dissolvable tablet, liquid, and intramuscular injection.

The injection is used to treat acute symptoms in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. It is fast acting, which allows it to immediately treat symptoms. It is recommended for use when a patient is exhibiting psychomotor agitation. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV, psychomotor agitation is "excessive motor activity associated with a feeling of inner tension". The package insert for Abilify states that psychomotor agitation causes patients to: "...manifest behaviors that interfere with their diagnosis and care (threatening behaviors, escalating or urgently distressing behavior, or self-exhausting behavior)".

The package insert indicates that Abilify can treat irritability in patients with autistic disorder from the age of 6-17. Irritability in these patients causes symptoms of aggression (towards self and/or others), deliberate self-injuriousness, temper tantrums, and rapid mood changes/swings.

Overall, Abilify acts as a mood stabilizer and can be used in conjunction with antidepressants and other medications to treat the symptoms of agitation, irritability, depression, and self-injurious/self-destructive behaviors.

The risks involved are similar to other antipsychotic drugs. In addition, some allergic reactions in people who are sensitive to aripiprazole included: pruritus (itchiness, persistent sensation of needing to scratch), urticaria (hives- raised, red welts on the skin, which are often itchy), and anaphylaxis (a potentially fatal whole body allergic reaction).

In teens and children, Abilify may increase suicidal thoughts or actions. Family and caregivers should pay close attention to changes in moods, conversations, and actions. If the patient seems to be having suicidal thoughts or new self-injurious/self-destructive behaviors their doctor should be contacted immediately.

Common mild side effects for adults include: nausea, vomiting, constipation, headache, dizziness, akathisia (an inner sensation of restlessness and compulsion to move; restless leg syndrome is one type of this condition), anxiety, insomnia, and restlessness.

Common mild side effects for children and teens include: somnolence (drowsiness, feeling the need for sleep much of the time, sleeping for long periods), headache, vomiting, extrapyramidal disorder (neurologic disorders which cause disturbances of muscular movement; either hyperkinetic (conditions such as chorea, dystonia, hemiballismus, myoclonus, stereotypy, tic, and tremor) or hypokinetic (conditions such as akinetic mutism, psychomotor retardation, and the stiff-man syndrome), fatigue, increased appetite, insomnia, nausea, nasopharyngitis (inflammation of the nasal passages and pharynx), and weight gain.

Serious adverse side effects include: tardive dyskinesia (uncontrollable muscle movements and tics which may become permanent, even after medication is stopped), neuroleptic malignant syndrome (a potentially fatal disorder which causes hyperpyrexia, muscle rigidity, altered mental status, irregular pulse or blood pressure, tachycardia, diaphoresis, and cardiac dysrhythmia), diabetes mellitus, hyperglycemia, hypotension, leukopenia (decrease in white blood cells), neutropenia/agranulocytosis (failure of the bone marrow to make enough white blood cells), seizures/convulsions, body temperature regulation difficulties, and increased likelihood of suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

Abilify hasn't been studied for effectiveness in children under 6. In elderly patients with dementia related psychosis shouldn't take Abilify, as it has been shown to increase the risk of death.

Abilify is able to help many patients with stressful and sometimes debilitating symptoms related to their conditions. As with any other medicine, each individual will experience differing degrees of side effects. Closely monitoring the health and behavior of the patient while on Abilify will greatly decrease the chance of suffering permanent and/or serious adverse effects.

Sources:

Abilify package insert, http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?id=16940
Agranulocytosis, https://health.google.com/health/ref/Agranulocytosis