What is the drug clozapine used for?

Clozapine is used to treat severely ill patients with schizophrenia who have used other medicines that did not work well. It is also used to lower risk of suicidal behavior in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.

Why is clozapine high risk?

Clozapine is associated with several significant adverse effects, including agranulocytosis, neutropenia, constipation (which can be severe), myocarditis and adverse metabolic effects. These adverse effects are not necessarily dose-related and may occur at any time during treatment.

What is the major side effect of clozapine?

Clozapine may cause drowsiness, blurred vision, convulsions (seizures), or to have trouble with thinking or controlling body movements, which may lead to falls, fractures or other injuries.

Is clozapine used for anxiety?

The drug Clozapine helps manage symptoms of depression and anxiety by binding to receptor molecules in the brain that respond to neurotransmitters — chemicals used by nerve cells to communicate with each other.

Is clozapine a sleeping pill?

No, clozapine (Clozaril) is not a sleeping pill. It is used to treat very severe forms of schizophrenia and suicidal behavior in schizophrenia. However, clozapine (Clozaril) can make people feel drowsy and sleepy.

Is clozapine an opioid?

Methadone is an opioid used for the treatment of morphine, heroin addiction and chronic pain, while clozapine is an antipsychotic drug used to treat schizophrenia.

Why is clozapine so good?

Clozapine’s relatively rapid dissociation from D2 receptors [13] and its antagonistic activity at the 5-HT2A receptors [11] have been put forward as mechanisms responsible for its effectiveness as an antipsychotic, and its actions at multiple receptors account for many of its adverse effects [14].

Is clozapine a good drug?

It further showed that clozapine fared better than 6 other drugs (and polypharmacy), being associated with a substantially lower risk of death, including suicide, compared with a range of other antipsychotics, even those with more neutral metabolic side effects.

Why is clozapine a last resort?

Clozapine has unique and powerful side effects and risks, which often make it a drug of last resort.