PMID: 8834439

Issn Print: 0271-0749

Publication Date: 1996/02/01


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Comments to "The Evolution of the Serotonin-Dopamine Antagonist Concept"

A.A. Howsepian

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Matti Huttunen, MD, [1] asserts that "risperidone lacks histamine-blocking properties and is essentiallly free from sedative effects" (p. 7S). This statement seems to contradict both my experience with the use of risperidone and Dr. Huttunen's Figure 2(p. 6S), and it clearly contradicts the 1995 Physician's Desk Reference (PDR) entry for Risperdal (Janssen Pharmaceutica Inc., Titusville, NJ).
According to the 1995 PDR, "Somnolence was a commonly reported [dose-dependent] adverse event associated with Risperdal treatment[.]" (p. 1194). In addition, it is stated that Risperdal "is a selective monoaminergic antagonist with high affinity for . . . H1 histaminergic receptors." (p. 1193). Dr. Huttunen seems to acknowledge the antihistaminergic property of risperidone in his Figure 2, although the caption for this figures does not make clear whether all receptors mentioned are ones that, according to Dr. Huttunen, risperidone is thought to antagonize.
I have witnessed firsthand the sedative properties of risperidone in a schizophrenic patient, a young man, who became somnolent to the point of stupor on risperidone, 6 mg/day. When his risperidone was discontinued, his somnolence cleared.
A.A. Howsepian, MD, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry, Fresno, California.
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