Background
The dopaminergic partial agonism of the so-called third-generation antipsychotics (TGAs: aripiprazole, brexpiprazole, cariprazine) is hypothesized to cause Impulse Control Disorders (ICDs). Relevant warnings by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) were posted on aripiprazole (2016) and brexpiprazole (2018). Our study investigated the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) and the pharmacodynamic CHEMBL database to further characterize TGA-induced ICDs.
Methods
We downloaded and pre-processed the FAERS up to December 2020. We adapted Bradford Hill criteria to assess each TGA’s –and secondarily other antipsychotics’– causal role in inducing ICDs (pathological gambling, compulsive shopping, hyperphagia, hypersexuality), accounting for literature and disproportionality. ICDs clinical features were analyzed, and their pathogenesis investigated using receptor affinities.
Results
2708 reports of TGA-related ICDs were found, primarily recording aripiprazole (2545 reports, 94%) among the drugs, and gambling (2018 reports, 75%) among the events. Bradford-Hill criteria displayed evidence for a causal role of each TGA, consistent across subpopulations and when correcting for biases. Significant disproportionalities also emerged for lurasidone with compulsive shopping, hyperphagia, and hypersexuality, and olanzapine and ziprasidone with hyperphagia. Time to onset varied between days and years, and positive dechallenge was observed in 20% cases. Frequently co-reported events were economic (50%), obsessive-compulsive (44%), and emotional conditions (34%). 5-HT1A emerged as an additional plausible pathogenetic mechanism.
Conclusions
We detected an association between TGAs and ICDs and identified a new signal for lurasidone. ICD characteristics are behavior-specific and may impact heavily on life. The role of 5-HT1A-agonism should be further explored.