Mellaril: profile and news

Study Finds Cymbalta® Was As Safe And Well-Tolerated As Routine ...  Feb 20, 2006
If you have recently taken a type of antidepressant called a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI), are taking Mellaril® (thioridazine) or have uncontrolled ... - Medical News Today (press release),

antipsychotics: Mortality risk may be greater with older drugs.  12 Dec 2005
The drugs included the conventional antipsychotics Tindal, Thorazine, Prolixin, Permitil, Serentil, Trilafon, Mellaril, Stelazine, Vesprin, Taractan, Haldol ... - Evansville Courier & Press (subscription),

Lilly to Seek Approval For New Use For Cymbalta  Dec 9, 2005
If you have recently taken a type of antidepressant called a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI), are taking Mellaril® (thioridazine) or have uncontrolled ... - Inside INdiana Business (press release),

FDA Warning: Using Paxil Raises Birth Defects Risk  Dec 8, 2005
Never take paroxetine if you are taking Mellaril (thioridazine), used to treat schizophrenia, because it can result in serious heart beat problems. ... - Food Consumer,

Tardive Dyskinesia  Nov 28, 2005
These drugs include: Thorazine, Mellaril, Clozaril, Serentil, Seroquel, Moban, Trilafon, Loxitane, Stelazine, Prolixin, Navane, Haldol, Orap, Risperdal, Zyprexa ... - Bella Online

In the Name of “Mental Healthâ€?: An Antipsychiatry Perspective ...  Nov 30, 2005
Although Health Canada recently banned Mellaril, (thioridazine), it has never banned other equally dangerous, brain-damaging neuroleptics such as Haldol,. ... - New Socialist Group,

Advisory - Sales of anti-psychotic drug thioridazine to be stopped  Sep 8, 2005
The original brand name of thioridazine was Mellaril. In July 2000, Novartis Pharma Canada Inc., the manufacturer of Mellaril, distributed ... - CNW Telbec (Communiqués de presse),

Treatment for mental illness falls short  Oct 2, 2005
...illness. Chlorpromazine (Thorazine), haloperidol (Haldol) and thioridazine (Mellaril) became the standard treatments for schizophrenia. ... - Houston Chronicle,

Many meds don't mix with the sun  Sep 21, 2005
Zyprexa), perphenazine (Trilafon), prochlorperazine (Compa-zine), quetiapine (Seroquel), risperidone (Risperdal), thioridazine (Mellaril), thiothixene (Navane ... - Pioneer Press,

Health Canada pulling schizophrenia drug  08 Sep 2005
...patients. Thioridazine has been used in Canada for treating schizophrenia since 1959, originally sold under the brand name Mellaril. ... - CTV.ca, <**results**>

Parkinson's Disease  Jul 5, 2005
...*Exposure to any of the following increases your risk for Parkinson's Disease: neurotoxic drugs (compazine, trilafon, mellaril, prolixin, stelazine, thorazine ... - Bella Online

Advocate, 62, earns college degree  Jun 3, 2005
Boys and girls were segregated. Families were told not to visit. Doctors forced lithium and Mellaril down his throat. Abuse of residents was rampant. - The Republican,

Atypical Antipsychotic Drugs Don't Raise Heart Risk  Mar 31, 2005
...as Risperdal (risperidone) and Zyprexa (olanzapine), while conventional antipsychotics include drugs such as Haldol (haloperidol) and Mellaril (thioridazine). ... - ABC News

'It's a hidden epidemic'  Mar 8, 2005
...interview. The doctor scribbled a prescription for Mellaril, a 50-year-old drug originally used for schizophrenia. Alex got worse. ... - Washington Times,

Reduced cytochrome P450 2D6 isozyme activity, drugs which inhibit this isozyme (e.g., fluoxetine and paroxetine), and certain other drugs (e.g., fluvoxamine, propranolol, and pindolol) appear to appreciably inhibit the metabolism of thioridazine. The resulting elevated levels of thioridazine would be expected to augment the prolongation of the QTc interval associated with Mellaril and may increase the risk of serious, potentially fatal, cardiac arrhythmias, such as torsade de pointes-type arrhythmias. Such an increased risk may result also from the additive effect of co-administering Mellaril with other agents that prolong the QTc interval. Therefore, Mellaril is contraindicated with these drugs as well as in patients, comprising about 7% of the normal population, who are known to have a genetic defect leading to reduced levels of activity of P450 2D6.

Drugs that Inhibit Cytochrome P450 2D6

In a study of 19 healthy male subjects, which included 6 slow and 13 rapid hydroxylators of debrisoquin, a single 25 mg oral dose of thioridazine produced a 2.4-fold higher C_max and a 4.5- fold higher AUC for thioridazine in the slow hydroxylators compared to rapid hydroxylators. The rate of debrisoquin hydroxylation is felt to depend on the level of cytochrome P450 2D6 isozyme activity. Thus, this study suggests that drugs that inhibit P450 2D6 or the presence of reduced activity levels of this isozyme will produce elevated plasma levels of thioridazine. Therefore, the co-administration of drugs that inhibit P450 2D6 with Mellaril and the use of Mellaril in patients known to have reduced activity of P450 2D6 are contraindicated.

Drugs that Reduce the Clearance of Mellaril® through Other Mechanisms

Fluvoxamine: The effect of fluvoxamine (25 mg b.i.d. for one week) on thioridazine steady state concentration was evaluated in 10 male in-patients with schizophrenia. Concentrations of thioridazine and its two active metabolites, mesoridazine and sulforidazine, increased three-fold following co-administration of fluvoxamine. Fluvoxamine and Mellaril should not be co-administered.

Propranolol: Concurrent administration of propranolol (100-800 mg daily) has been reported to produce increases in plasma levels of thioridazine (approximately 50%-400%) and its metabolites (approximately 80%-300%). Propranolol and Mellaril should not be co-administered.

Pindolol: Concurrent administration of pindolol and thioridazine have resulted in moderate, dose-related increases in the serum levels of thioridazine and two of its metabolites, as well as higher than expected serum pindolol levels. Pindolol and Mellaril should not be co-administered.

Drugs That Prolong the QTc Interval

There are no studies of the co-administration of Mellaril and other drugs that prolong the QTc interval. However, it is expected that such co-administration would produce additive prolongation of the QTc interval and, thus, such use is contraindicated.