ATYPICAL ANTIPSYCHOTICS FROM SCRATCH TO THE PRESENT

Mental illness constitutes the second-largest disease burden in the United States. Psychosis is one of the most common and severe mental illnesses. It is an extremely devastating condition characterised by delusions, hallucinations, distortion of thoughts and deteriorating social functioning experiences. Psychosis in all human societies has approximately same incidence of occurrence as in accordance to “anthropo-parity principle.” It has large economic impact on various aspects of cognition, health, and quality of life which has devastated effects on its sufferers and facing them large economic burden. Psychosis (Schizophrenia) is associated with an imbalance of the dopaminergic system, entailing hyper-stimulation of dopamine function in the brain, particularly in the mesolimbic pathway. Consequences of antipsychotic treatment are far reaching and expensive. Detrimental extrapyramidal side effects associated with conventional antipsychotics and non-compliance among patients limits long term treatment with conventional antipsychotics. It gives rise to a new class, atypical antipsychotics owning low propensity to cause EPS, efficacy against refractory cases and better control over negative symptoms, better tolerance and compliance along with lower relapse rate and safer adverse effect profile. Atypical antipsychotics have revolutionized the treatment of psychosis, now being the treatment of choice for patients with psychosis. The positive therapeutic experience with the atypical antipsychotics in the treatment of psychosis and their favourable effects outweighs their unfavourable adverse effects. Though atypical antipsychotics are widely prescribed in the treatment of schizophrenia, however not a single atypical antipsychotic drug having any exceptional efficacy and safety profile. Thus, there is still a lot of research needed to be carried out in the development of novel atypical antipsychotics. This review is comprehensive appraisal about history and development, epidemiology, etiology of psychosis along with treatment with antipsychotics (especially on atypical antipsychotics), their global market, pharmaco-economics, mechanism of action and  recent advancements in atypical antipsychotic medications, antipsychotic drugs which are currently under clinical development along with Ayurvedic, Homeopathic, Chinese, Unani treatment for psychosis.