Considering that Risperdal can lead to so many side effects (discussed in the intro), why do doctors and pharmacologists recommend it? Are there safer, more predictable drugs available to treat schizophrenia and other, related disorders?

The truth is that psychopharmacology has advanced dramatically over the past 100 years.

Risperdal belongs to a category of antipsychotics known as second generation antipsychotics (or SGAs). These drugs are more nuanced, from a biochemical perspective, than the original sets of antipsychotic drugs, known as first generation antipsychotics (FGAs).

The FGAs were notorious for causing devastating side effects, such as tardive dyskinesia (a disorder of movement) as well as hyperprolactinemia (the dysfunctional elevation of levels of the hormone prolactin).

In the 1990s, pharmaceutical companies released a series of what they promised would be better antipsychotics – medications that caused fewer side effects. In fact, companies called these drugs “atypical” antipsychotics, since advocates suggested that they did not cause the “typical” antipsychotic drug side effects that occurred when people took the FGAs.

Risperdal entered the market in 1996.

Even though it belonged to the newer class of antipsychotics (the SGAs), early on, clinical evidence emerged that Risperdal, too, had serious side effects, including hyperprolactinemia — one of the devastating side effects that sidelined the first generation antipsychotics.

To understand why “hyperprolactinemia” is dangerous and what prompts this condition, first we need to explore the basic biochemistry of the hormone prolactin.

What is prolactin, and what does it do in the body?

Prolactin is not a “bad” hormone. In fact, it provides essential functions for the body. Here is a simple definition that describes what it does:

“Prolactin is a hormone produced by your pituitary gland, the gland that sits at the bottom of the brain. Though prolactin plays a role in the growth and development of your breasts, its primary function is in milk production after a child is born. Normally, it is present in small amounts throughout your bloodstream (and in men’s), kept under control by another hormone called a prolactin inhibiting factor (dopamine). When you get pregnant, however, prolactin levels increase significantly. Then, after the baby is born, the combination of high prolactin levels and the abrupt drop in estrogen and progesterone occurring after birth enable your body to produce milk for breastfeeding.” (From WebMD, sourced 3/30/14)

We’ll explore more about the relationship between prolactin levels and symptoms in the next post. For insight into your Risperdal case, call the Davis & Crump team now at 800-277-0300 or email us at info@daviscrump.com.