Ziprasidone

Ziprasidone for bipolar treatment may have less tendency to put weight on bipolar users.

Ziprasidone, which is marketed as Geodon, Zeldox by the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, is an anti-psychotic drug approved by the Federal Drug and Administration to treat patients suffering from psychoses, mainly schizophrenia. The drug works by inhibiting communication between various nerves in the brain. It is produced as an oral form as well as an intramuscular form.

The intramuscular form is used to treat acute agitation in schizophrenic patients while the oral form is a generalization of the drug. Based in New York City with research headquarters in Connecticut, the makers of Ziprasidone, Pfizer, are ranked as the number one pharmaceutical company in sales in the world.

Along with it’s prescribing indications to treat psychoses, ziprasidone has been approved to treat other conditions as well. The Ziprasidone drug acts as acute treatment for patients suffering from mania and mixed states in connection with bipolar disorder. A small study on Ziprasidone has also reported it’s effect in the treatment of tic disorder.

Pfizer has a long list of reputable drugs that are manufactured and marketed by the company. Along with ziprasidone, the list contains such drugs as antibiotics, birth control medications, treatment for HIV and AIDS, chemotherapy treatment, allergy treatment, osteoporosis treatment and treatment for depression, to name a few. The company has grown tremendously by mergers and acquisitions, including Warner-Lambert, Pharmacia and most recently a merger with it’s rival, Wyeth.

Some of the other major contenders in the market of anti-psychotic drugs include olanzapine (Zyprexa) which is manufactured by Eli Lilly and Company, quatrain (Seroquel) which is produced by AstraZeneca and paliperidone (Invega) which is developed by Janssen Pharmaceutica in Belgium.

There are key points that differentiate Ziprasidone from it’s competitors. While other anti-psychotic drugs have a tendency to make patients gain weight, the average weight gain for patients while on ziprasidone is significantly lower.

Author: C. Anders, BiPolar Disorder Product Reviews