Extended-release intramuscular aripiprazole for maintenance pharmacotherapy in schizophrenia and related disorders

Aripiprazole is a third-generation antipsychotic. It is prepared in many different formulations including oral, intravenous and intramuscular. The intramuscular option is currently available in a fast-acting form while the long-acting (extended-release, depot) formulation was recently approved by the US FDA. The purpose of this article is to review the current literature regarding the long-acting formulation of aripiprazole. Medical literature published in English on aripiprazole or Abilify((R)) (Otsuka America Pharmaceutical Inc., MD, USA) was found using Pubmed, Medline and EMBASE. Publications containing the words depot, long-acting or intramuscular in their title or abstract were utilized. In total, two publications were reviewed for the purposes of this article. There is a scarcity of publications on the effectiveness of long-acting aripiprazole in the treatment of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. However, the available literature suggests that aripiprazole depot is a well-tolerated maintenance treatment option for schizophrenia. Original submitted 6 November 2012; Revised submitted 11 January 2013; Published online 2 April 2013