Antidepressant Efficacy of the Antipsychotic Quetiapine:Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics and Clinical Data

Abstract

Quetiapine (QTP) is an is an atypical antipsychotic, that was approved in 1997 by American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for schizophrenia, both in adults and adolescents (13-17 years). Since 2003 this drug was approved also for the treatment of maniac episode in bipolar adults and adolescents (10-17 years) then in 2006 FDA extended the use of QTP to bipolar depression episodes and in 2008 to the maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder. In 2009 QTP starts to be used also as add on therapy of major depressive disorder combined to antidepressants, without FDA consent. Actually this drug, in "off label" use, is employed also for monotherapy of unipolar depression. QTP treatment was generally well tolerated. The incidence of treatment-emergent mania/hypomania was lower with QTP compared with the antidepressant paroxetine and placebo.