Risperidone general information
What is Risperidone used for?
Risperidone tablets 4mg are used to treat certain neuropsychiatric disorders (mental health conditions) in adults and children.
Risperidone tablets 4mg are used to treat acute and chronic schizophrenia, a neurological disorder in which disruption of normal brain function results in abnormal interpretation of reality, due to a disruption of normal thought processes and emotions. Symptoms of schizophrenia are classified into as positive symptoms (delusions, hallucinations, thought disturbances, hostility, suspiciousness and disorganised behaviour) and negative symptoms (social and emotional withdrawal, inability to carry out planned activities, loss of interest in everyday activities and neglect of personal hygiene). Risperidone tablets 4mg alleviates positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia, also affective symptoms (depression, guilt-feelings, anxiety) associated with schizophrenia, and is helps maintain clinical improvement.
Risperidone tablets 4mg are also used for short term treatment and long-term control of mania in bipolar disorder. This condition is characterised by symptoms such as elevated, expansive or irritable mood, inflated self-esteem, decreased need for sleep, pressured speech, racing thoughts, distractibility, or poor judgement, including disruptive or aggressive behaviours.
Risperidone tablets 4mg are also used, for up to 12 weeks, to treat behavioural problems in patients who have moderate to severe Alzheimer type dementia (decline in mental ability), including agitation, aggression or psychotic symptoms.
Risperidone tablets 4mg are also used in children (over 5 years old), adolescents and adults who are intellectually disabled, to treat conduct disorder and other disruptive behaviours such as aggression, impulsiveness and self-injury, as part of a more comprehensive treatment programme including psychosocial and educational intervention, and are effective in maintaining clinical improvement.
Risperidone tablets 4mg are also used to treat of behavioural symptoms of autism, in children and adolescent. Autism can be defined as a condition that ranges in severity (also known as autism spectrum disorder) that causes a delay or difficulty in development of language skills, social behaviour and cognitive and thinking skills, which affect learning, social interaction and communication.
Risperidone tablets 4mg works through the same mechanism to help relieve various symptoms of mental illness by helping to correct a chemical imbalance in the brain associated with these conditions.
How does Risperidone work?
Risperidone tablets 4mg contain risperidone, an antipsychotic drug used to treat various mental health conditions in adults and children. Risperidone in Risperidone tablets 4mg is a selective monoaminergic antagonist, which means it modulates the activity of certain neurotransmitters (brain chemicals that allow nerve cells to communicate) including dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline (norepinephrine), and works by binding specifically to the receptors for dopamine (dopaminergic D2 receptors) and serotonin (serotoninergic 5-HT2 receptors) and also to the alpha1-adrenergic receptors. The correct balance of these neurotransmitters plays an important role in the regulation of emotion and mood, particularly the dopaminergic and serotonergic systems, and a dysregulation in these systems, resulting in an imbalance in these neurotransmitters, is thought to contribute to many of the symptoms associated with various neuropsychiatric disorders (mental health conditions). A chemical imbalance in dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline are thought to be responsible for extreme and elevated mood swings, including mania, aggression and other psychotic symptoms. By binding to the specific receptors in the areas of the brain involved in mood regulation, risperidone in Risperidone tablets 4mg blocks the stimulation of these receptors, which corrects the chemical imbalance in the brain associated with these conditions and results in mood stabilisation.
What does Risperidone contain?
Risperidone tablets 4mg contain the active ingredient risperidone, an antipsychotic drug used to treat various mental health conditions in adults and children. They also contain lactose, maize starch, microcrystalline cellulose, sodium lauryl sulphate, colloidal silicon dioxide, purified talc, magnesium stearate, hypromellose, propylene glycol.
Treating mental health conditions with Risperidone
Risperidone tablets 4mg contain risperidone, an antipsychotic drug used to treat various mental health conditions in adults and children. These include:
- acute and chronic schizophrenia, characterised by positive symptoms like delusions and hallucinations, and negative symptoms like social and emotional withdrawal
- control of mania in bipolar disorder
- treatment of behavioural problems in patients who have moderate to severe Alzheimer type dementia
- treatment of conduct disorder and other disruptive behaviours such as aggression, impulsiveness and self-injury in the intellectually disabled
- treatment of behavioural symptoms of autism.
Risperidone in Risperidone tablets 4mg is a selective monoaminergic antagonist, which means it modulates the activity of certain neurotransmitters (brain chemicals that allow nerve cells to communicate) particularly dopamine and serotonin, and works by binding specifically to the receptors for dopamine (dopaminergic D2 receptors) and serotonin (serotoninergic 5-HT2 receptors) and also to the alpha1-adrenergic receptors, which are receptors for noradrenaline (norepinephrine). An imbalance in these neurotransmitters is thought to contribute to many of the symptoms associated with various neuropsychiatric disorders (mental health conditions). A chemical imbalance in dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline are thought to be responsible for extreme and elevated mood swings, including mania, aggression and other psychotic symptoms. Risperidone tablets 4mg works through the same mechanism to help relieve various symptoms of mental illness by correcting a chemical imbalance in the brain associated with these conditions.
What are the side effects of Risperidone?
The most commonly reported side effects when taking Risperidone tablets 4mg include Parkinsonism (characterised by tremor, slow stiff movement), sedation, drowsiness, headache and insomnia, infection (including pneumonia, bronchitis, upper respiratory tract infection, sinusitis, urinary tract infection, ear infection, influenza) hyperprolactinaemia (high levels pf the hormone prolactin, resulting in breast milk secretion), weight gain, increased or decreased appetite, extrapyramidal symptoms (including sleep disorder, agitation, depression, anxiety due to antagonising dopamine receptors), blurred vision, conjunctivitis, tachycardia (rapid heartbeat), dyspnoea (breathlessness), pharyngolaryngeal pain, cough, epistaxis (nosebleed), nasal congestion, abdominal pain, vomiting, nausea, constipation, diarrhoea, dyspepsia (indigestion), dry mouth, toothache, rash, erythema (redness of the skin), muscle spasms, musculoskeletal pain, back pain, arthralgia (joint pain), urinary incontinence, pyrexia (fever), chest pain, asthenia (weakness), fatigue.
When should Risperidone not be used?
You should not use Risperidone tablets 4mg if you:
- are allergic to risperidone or any ingredients in Risperidone tablets
- are pregnant or are breastfeeding
- have kidney or liver disease
- have cardiovascular disease including heart failure, myocardial infarction (heart attack), abnormalities in electrical activity of the heart, dehydration, hypovolaemia (low blood volume), or cerebrovascular disease (stroke)
- have thromboembolism (blood clots)
- have diabetes
- have Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome,
- have Parkinson's disease, dementia (or Lewy body dementia), epilepsy or seizures
- have Intraoperative Floppy Iris Syndrome
- are taking medicines that interact with Risperidone including, diuretics like frusemide, opiate analgesics, antihistamines, benzodiazepines, such as used for anxiety and sleeping medication, levodopa for Parkinson’s disease and other dopamine agonists, antihypertensives, the antiepileptic carbamazepine, phenothiazine antipsychotics, tricyclic antidepressants, some beta-blockers, antidepressants like fluoxetine and paroxetine
What medications interact with Risperidone?
Several medications interact with Risperidone tablets 4mg and should either not be taken while you are taking Risperidone or only after discussion and instruction from your doctor:
- Drugs that cause a serious reaction with Risperidone: diuretics like frusemide, opiates, antihistamines and benzodiazepines, such as used for anxiety and sleeping medication, due to the increased risk of sedation, antihypertensives can cause low blood pressure,
- Drugs that affect Risperidone: the antiepileptic carbamazepine, phenothiazine antipsychotics, antidepressants like fluoxetine and paroxetine, tricyclic antidepressants, some beta-blockers
- Drugs that are affected by Risperidone: levodopa for Parkinson’s disease and other dopamine agonists
How should Risperidone be taken?
You should take your Risperidone tablets 4mg swallowed whole with a glass of water, with or without food, once or twice daily. The dose you take and how often depends on what you are being treated for and your doctor’s recommendation. You should continue to take your Risperidone tablets 4mg for as long as recommended by your doctor and you should not stop taking them even if you feel better, as Risperidone tablets 4mg will help control your condition, but does not cure it.
How long should you take Risperidone?
You should continue to take your Risperidone tablets 4mg for as long as recommended by your doctor and you should not stop taking them even if you feel better, as Risperidone tablets 4mg will help control your condition, but does not cure it.
Missed dose of Risperidone
If you miss a dose of Risperidone tablets 4mg take it as soon as you remember, unless it is time to take the next dose, then skip the missed dose. Do not take a double dose.
How should Risperidone be stored?
You should store your Risperidone tablets 4mg below 25°C in a cool dry place.