Tempei Otsubo    Department   School of Medicine(Tokyo Women's Medical University Adachi Medical Center), School of Medicine    Position   Professor
Article types	Original article
Language	English
Peer review	Peer reviewed
Presence of invitation	Invited paper
Title	Brexpiprazole for the Treatment of Schizophrenia in Adults: An Overview of Its Clinical Efficacy and Safety and a Psychiatrist's Perspective.
Journal	Formal name：Drug design, development and therapy Abbreviation：Drug Des Devel Ther ISSN code：11778881/11778881
Domestic / Foregin	Foregin
Volume, Issue, Page	14,pp.5559-5574
Author and coauthor	Watanabe Yoshinori, Yamada Sakiko, Otsubo Tempei, Kikuchi Toshiaki
Publication date	2020
Summary	While the prognosis of patients with schizophrenia has dramatically improved after the advent of chlorpromazine, the antipsychotics currently available are so numerous that it has become a challenge for psychiatrists to choose from among these drugs for each patient presenting for care. In addition, while numerous studies show that an effective antipsychotic should be continued indefinitely to prevent relapses or worsening, many patients appear to have difficulty remaining on any drug thus initiated. Brexpiprazole, a dopamine D2 receptor partial agonist, appears to provide a unique profile that has much to offer in this light. Specifically, this novel drug is potentially better suited for long-term use, with decreased risk of extrapyramidal side effects, hyperprolactinemia, weight gain, psychosis, insomnia, akathisia, nausea/vomiting or restlessness, thus potentially facilitating patients' reintegration into society. Indeed, brexpiprazole has been shown in randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials to have proven efficacy not only in improving the symptoms of schizophrenia but in preventing relapses. It is also suggested in both short- and long-term studies that brexpiprazole offers a favorable safety and tolerability profile. This review also includes a proposed treatment algorithm incorporating brexpiprazole, based on the clinical trial results available, as well as on the authors' clinical experience, where brexpiprazole may be best used as a drug of first choice for the treatment of schizophrenia. Thus, overall, brexpiprazole appears to play a more significant role in the treatment of schizophrenia than other antipsychotics.
DOI	10.2147/DDDT.S240859
PMID	33376301