abilify

It always makes me a bit nervous when a psychiatric drug is used for such different disorders... or perhaps the disorders aren't truly so different and thus why a drug as abilify can be used for bipolar I disorder (Mixed/Manic), depression, and schizophrenic.  More surprisingly is that this drug treats these disorders sometimes at the same dosage.  Strange.

Pharmacologically aripiprazole exhibits high affinity for dopamine D2 and D3, serotonin 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A receptors, moderate affinity for dopamine D4, serotonin 5-HT2C and 5-HT7, alpha1-adrenergic and histamine H1 receptors, and moderate affinity for the serotonin reuptake site. Aripiprazole has no appreciable affinity for cholinergic muscarinic receptors. Aripiprazole functions as a partial agonist at the dopamine D2 and the serotonin 5-HT1A receptors, and as an antagonist at serotonin 5-HT2A receptor.

The mechanism of action of aripiprazole, as with other drugs having efficacy in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, is unknown. However, it has been proposed that the efficacy of aripiprazole is mediated through a combination of partial agonist activity at D2 and 5-HT1A receptors and antagonist activity at 5-HT2A receptors. Actions at receptors other than D2, 5-HT1A, and 5-HT2A may explain some of the other clinical effects of aripiprazole, e.g., the orthostatic hypotension observed with aripiprazole may be explained by its antagonist activity at adrenergic alpha1 receptors.

Of course the side effects are always different with this class of medication.  There's the fly-catcher tongue or tardive dyskinesia, neuroleptic malignant syndrome, cerbrovascular events like stroke, etc..., diabetes exacerbation (elevated blood sugar), orthostatic hypotension, body temperature reglation issues, seizure, and the list goes on as it does for a lot of drugs in this category.