Abstract

Exercise and Antipsychotic Drugs

Mary V. Seeman

Background: Exercise has been shown to reduce symptoms in patients with schizophrenia.

Aim: To determine whether exercise has a corresponding effect on antipsychotic side effects.

Method: The Google Scholar database was searched for references to exercise, pharmacokinetics, and antipsychotic drug side effects.

Results: There are no human studies on the effect of exercise on side effects of antipsychotic medications. Clinical experience suggests that exercise increases parkinsonian side effects of intramuscular depot antipsychotics while animal experiments show that the side effects of oral antipsychotics are buffered by exercise.

Conclusion:A difference in bioavailability may explain why exercise increases side effects when antipsychotic drugs are administered in intramuscular depot form, but decrease these effects when antipsychotics are given orally. Human trials are needed.